A Wizard's Waltz To A Stray Strut
by Fruit-Sexual
Summary: After her curse is dispelled, Sophie stills lives in the moving castle, and unintentionally starts remembering her late father. Old stories, falling stars, and flying ships are much more than she and Howl bargained for. [HowlSophie]
1. Incantation Of Truth

Disclaimer: I do not lay claim to Howl's Moving Castle, which belongs to Diana Wynne Jones, and the movie to Hayao Miyazaki. This fanfiction is for pure fun and I am not making any profit from it. Although, I do own original characters which don't appear in the movie or the book. Since my descriptions might be vague or not set the right image for people, most of my characters will be put on my art account. Once a character is formally introduced, a link will be provided at the end of the chapter. Please review, it would be much appreciated, and if my fanfiction isn't good, atleast I hope my art will make up for it slightly.

Summary: After curses being lifted, Sophie still lives in the moving castle of the 'evil, monstrous' Howl, for cleaning and 'other' reasons. And Sophie starts to remember her beloved father and the mysterious man of the woods who had some connection with him and herself. But as of lately, young girls, and occasionally boys start disappearing in the night when they venture out alone. Some without a trace and others-nothing left but a puddle of crimson. Could it be related to the frequent shooting stars or perhaps….the man Sophie so desperately wants to remember.

**Incantation Of The One Truth**

The silver light of the full moon crept through a musty glass window. The trees and branches of the vicious jungles outside the shelter blocked most of the rays, but some light was still able to pass through.

A gust of wind blew through the surrounding foliage, to squeeze into the apparent run-down wooden shelter through a large crack opening in the glass of the window. The breeze passed over the dusty shag rug, through the openings in the back of an overturned chair, and to the desk-ridden with dust covered books.

One book in particular lay center and solitary from the other piles. The breeze grew stronger and the cover of the old brown book blew open. The gust caused the pages to skim wildly. But once the wind died, the pages of the book grew still, the words of the book revealed to all from the closed artifact.

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_May 10th_

_Log – Demons_

_Strength_

_Upon my earlier interests within the subject confined as such, I have only been able to establish a few concrete statements as of date. First and foremost; despite what previous 'resource' books and manuscripts have stated, demons are not all 'evil', as they so write. _

_Demons, although bizarre and fascinating to all, are very similar to people. While humans usually lack horns, claws, scales and other common 'monster' qualities, no human or demon are the same. Yes, there are hundreds maybe thousands of breeds which can all be characterized by certain qualities, the fact is that every demon has a personality, emotions, strengths, weaknesses, desires, and fears-like humans do. Although I am uncertain about saying that all demons are more 'primitive' to the creatures on the human plan, the fact is very apparent in certain varieties of demons._

_While most people think of demons as large, hideous things, these assumptions are only true for about a quarter of the demon variety. Demons can come in any shape, any form, and any appearance. These creatures can be large and hideous or frail and gentle. There are also certain demons that bare remarkable resemblance to humans. These are the demon types which I think do live on the human plane, but do go unnoticed by most of the populace. I suppose these types could hide their pointed ears and fangs easily enough, otherwise their identities would be discovered out-right_

_Size also plays an important role in the demons. Large demons, which can easily be taller than any man-made thing or even natural mountains and canyons, tend to be violent predators, and extremely competitive of other giant demons. From what I gather, the main goal in the life of these demons is to gain more strength in their life spans. To do this, any demon that wishes to become stronger must fight, kill, and then devour the heart of their slaughter. A very cruel lifestyle; which brings about a demon's monstrous reputation. This trait applies to smaller demons as well, although I have noticed that these demons are more timid, although sporting rather tough attitudes, and do not fight as much as their larger brethren. _

_Also, despite what many folk believe, demons do exist as living creatures not just myths in stories. True is the fact that demons are not so common as to be walking the streets of a city or even a moors centric area such as the dreaded 'Wastes' or as far as I have seen. Yet there has been more than one account for demon sightings. After months of research and study, I have found out why this fact is such. Demons, although varying, do exist, but the fact stands that they simply do not exist in this world. A whimsical thought, yes, but demons exist on a plane not of that of humans, but of a mirrored world similar to the one we mortals inhabit now and have for many ages. Although this gap between worlds may seem great to humans, it is because most lack the ability to cross it. Demons, by some means unknown, are able to cross the gap. Yet, it appears that only certain ones namely stronger than average demons can make it to the other side. Also, when a demon does make it across, the demon is converted into a 'star' form and remains as such until renewed. How this process occurs is still a major mystery and might always remain as such._

_The fact that bothers me the most, though, which has been proven to be true, is that demons all share one major flaw: They have weak hearts. In a sense, given a choice, the demon will always choose the easiest, and usually the wrong, temptation. Demons also have a tendency to be greedy or lack compassion and other sympathetic emotions. These notions help explain why demons eat hearts. While their bodies can regenerate easily enough, their hearts usually remain the same, unless they devour another. Another fact, which I have discovered, is that demons tend to want 'strong' hearts. If confronted with a human, a demon will either try bargain a deal with a human, or, as in most cases, devour the heart without consent. _

_I have also noticed that in the cases where bargains are made, demons tend to gain consciences and stronger emotions depending on the heart of the person they make a contract with. With a strong enough heart given to them, there is no knowledge of what the demon would be capable of. As one would guess, demons are not the best at showing emotions other than anger or hunger. Such is the legend that says demons can not cry, has of yet been true Meaning I have yet to see a demon shed tears of sorrow or happiness._

_If a bargain cannot be made, demons go for their next option: physical stealing of a heart. In such cases, demons tend to target young, beautiful, virgin maidens. While I think the beauty trait is purely for the demon's own pleasure, virgin blood has been shown to be stronger than that of a sexually active human -in accounts for a demon, anyway. Virgin male blood would most likely have similar effects, although demons -male and female -seem to prefer a female host. I suppose since they find a female easier to snare than a man. _

_Demons have also been known to go after the heart of a witch or a wizard. While demons are the best handlers of magic-next to dragons-they are impervious to magic. Meaning that, when faced with a wizard, demons usually claim the victory. But, research shows that a heart of magical potential will make a demon that much stronger. How this is possible is still unknown. _

_As much as I have studied, I can only know so much. But the fact remains that in order for a demon to grow strong, a heart is needed to replace the weak one they possess. That is all I can write as of yet. While I do have a 'subject', research is unwilling and going slow. _

_Log Date- May 10th_

_**E**_

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A/N: Just a little intro. I know I know, before you all start coming at me with "this isn't true" and "that can't be" – I know! This is just my take and ideas on things. But I think most of my ideas sound pretty logical, give me at least that much credit! Anyway, The writing above is supposed to be from the book, if you didn't notice, and it has lots of foreshadowing-slightly I was going to make this chapter longer, but personally, I'm not sure how to start. Well, I was going to have something with Howl, Sophie and the rest in the castle, but I'm having some issues thinking of what to have them do. If you have any ideas or lead, feel free to say them, I'll give full credit in the next chap, and come on-If you want an update I need ideas XD 


	2. Strut About

Disclaimer: I do not lay claim to Howl's Moving Castle, which belongs to Diana Wynne Jones, and the movie to Hayao Miyazaki. This fanfiction is for pure fun and I am not making any profit from it. Although, I do own original characters which don't appear in the movie or the book. Since my descriptions might be vague or not set the right image for people, most of my characters will be put on my art account. Once a character is formally introduced, a link will be provided at the end of the chapter. Please review, it would be much appreciated, and if my fanfiction isn't good, at least I hope my art will make up for it slightly.

A/N: w000…..second chapter, you lucky lucky readers XD ha! Right. Anyway, I'm sure anyone who's reading this remembers the movie pretty decently, yes? Ok….remember what the interior of the castle looked like after the Witch and Heen moved in –after Sophie put that ginormous -kick ass word right? XD hole in the wall due to her horrendous driving skills? Yeah, basically the flying castle has almost the exact same interior. You know, the kitchen and table and such….only real difference is that Sophie has a better room of her own. …..And finally, something more than a book page happens in this chapter…Le GASP!

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Sophie gracefully sat herself at her designated chair at the table near the hearth. Once she was satisfied with her position after moving her legs and squirming a bit to get into a desired, comfortable position, she spread that day's newspaper flush on the table space in front of her and skimmed a few pages until she reached the article she wished to read.

The early light gleamed through the windows of the Market Chipping morning, where the door portal was currently on, filling the castle with enough light to brighten up the entire room. All was quiet in the castle except for the birds chirping outside, and the occasional crackle from Calcifer in his hearth.

Calcifer was up bright and cheerful…. well, he always used to get up early, but since Sophie started to live in the castle and was 'up with the sun' with him - now he had someone to keep him company in the morning instead of just sitting quietly and moving the castle until Howl decided to join the land of the living. Of course, he had reason to be cheerful. So at the moment, he sat contently on his logs while he hummed a little tune to himself as he watched the other occupant of the room scan through the paper. He occasionally heard Sophie hum random songs and tunes as she cleaned and did chores, and unconsciously got him in the habit as well, only he did it whenever he was in a cheerful mood or to pass the time.

Sophie gently turned another page of the paper with her delicate fingers, propping up her chin on the palm of her left hand as she started on another section of the news. Since she no longer worked the hat shop, she didn't get to hear the gossip of the town from the other ladies who worked with her as they told stories and rumors, not to mention the 'did you hear?' head-lines of the block. You'd be surprised by what women conversed about during their working hours. But with all that talk gone, the only way Sophie could have any idea about what was going on was for her to read the newspaper, so every morning-she did.

Sophie flipped another page of the paper and shifted her eyes to the hearth. Calcifer was still humming away, but when he noticed he had her attention momentarily, he broke out into his little fiery grin. Sophie gave a grin in return and turned back to her paper. Calcifer and her were always the first to be up, so they were able to set up a morning routine. Calcifer was up by the time the sun slowly started to rise, which usually cued Sophie to awaken; that was roughly around 6am. By that time, Calcifer always had hot water ready for her -unasked- and would wait patiently for her to finish her morning rituals of getting dressed and readying herself. So when she came down in a much less amount of time then Howl used to take, she would give the little fire demon a warm 'good morning' as she fetched the daily milk and paper. Occasionally, the Hatter girl would use this early morning time to finish chores or cleaning if she didn't finish them the day prior, but this of course, was a very rare event.

Calcifer was a very understanding demon, despite what Howl would claim about him, so he usually refrained from talking as to distract Sophie from her reading of current events until she gave her signals, such an elongated sigh or a particular 'clicking' noise she made with her tongue and front teeth. These were her ways to show that she was pretty much finished or nothing too interesting was posted. But when she finished, Calcifer could get all the attention he wanted-and he used that privilege to its fullest.

But at the moment, Sophie sat back in her chair, drawing her head to sit straight as she gave a depressed sounding sigh as she closed the paper. Calcifer stopped his humming and gave her a questioning stare. ……That wasn't the normal 'I'm finished, let's talk' sigh…

"Something wrong, Sophie?" Calcifer asked when Sophie just stared at the paper in front of her.

At his remark, Sophie quite visibly jumped in her seat, but quickly turned to give her fiery friend a reassuring smile.

"Oh, It's nothing. Sorry, Calcifer." The girl's smile fell from her lips as she slowly turned her gaze back to the paper. "…It's just that another girl disappeared last night."

"Oh, I see…How come it wasn't on the front page? Aren't big things like that put first?"

"Well, last night's case makes this the third missing person in two weeks, and according to the paper, it's always the same story-'went out late in the evening only to not return'. So I suppose they think it is not such a large attention grabber anymore." Sophie sighed.

Calcifer gave her a suspicious look for her calm reaction to this. He knew Sophie to be the 'too kind' sort of girl. She'd have more concern for a stranger with a scratch than if she, herself, was bleeding profusely. Although, laziness was about the only thing that received no sympathy from her…

"So, none of these kidnappings or whatever bother you?"

Sophie looked a bit shocked from that comment. "Oh no! Of course it bothers me, it's just...well, personally, I'm just not all that surprised."

"So women always went missing in your home town?" Calcifer narrowed his fiery eyes at Sophie.

"Not to my knowledge. But according to the news, all the missing cases happened in the far southern section of Chipping. It is rough terrain down there, so I suppose acts like these wouldn't be terribly uncommon. Rather sad, if you ask me," she stated as she let her head droop slightly to match the volume of her quiet tone.

Calcifer had his mouth open to comment, but rapid thumping of small feet coming down the stairs cut him off. The little demon and Sophie turned and watched as Markl happily came trotting down the stairs in his usual green attire and a smiling saying 'I'm ready for breakfast!' A few steps behind him, Heen was taking his time getting down the steps in his old age, but trying to hurry along at the prospect of breakfast.

"Good Morning, Calcifer!" The young boy chirped happily once he hit the bottom step and rushed at Sophie as she stood up from her chair she he could hug her legs. "Good Morning, Sophie!"

"Good morning to you too," she replied down at Markl.

The brown and white dog at her feet gave a wheezed cough and a shake of his tail. Sophie couldn't help but smile more as she addressed him as well. "Good morning, Heen."

By this time, Markl had detached himself from Sophie's lower section and was sitting upon his chair at the table, giving Sophie an expectant smile. When she looked up from giving Heen a pat on the head she got his message.

"So, I'm taking it that you would all like some breakfast, am I right?"

Markl nodded his head enthusiastically.

Sophie chuckled a bit. "All right then, what do you feel like having?" She asked as she took the large frying pan off its hook on the wall near Calcifer's hearth.

"Bacon and eggs!"

"Again? My, my……well I have to get Granny and then we can have breakfast."

Sophie placed the frying pan next to Calcifer as she walked near the staircase and went to the bedroom that used to be her designated spot. Now that Sophie was definitely a permanent resident now, Howl decided she should have a room upstairs with him and Markl. The Hatter girl, of course, didn't mind and all and suggested giving her old room to the Witch. But, the small downstairs bathroom had to be moved closer to her as to not wear out her old weathered legs. But, it wasn't anything that could cause trouble for Howl to do. In the end, he seemed more than willing to oblige if it would please Sophie. That's how Howl worked most of the time now, in Markl's and Calcifer's opinion anyway.

Once Sophie appeared from the doorway, she slowly escorted the Witch to the table, making sure not to go too fast. Once she helped the old woman comfortably to her chair, she went around the table and approached the hearth to get underway with the cooking.

"Could you bend your head, Calcifer?"

The little demon glumly did as she asked. Even though he usually always listened to Sophie, it still didn't make him feel any less embarrassed that a powerful fire demon such as himself had the main job of cooking meals.

Sophie chuckled lightly at the expression on the demon's bright ember face. She remembered Howl having a similar expression some time back when he noticed how HIS fire demon obeyed the ex-hat maker more willingly than him. To which Sophie only replied, 'He likes impressive feedback.'

Speaking of Howl………

Sophie looked over her shoulder at the staircase and called out, "Howl!"

No response.

"HOWL! IT'S TIME FOR BREAKFAST!" She tried a second time.

Still nothing. Typical.

Sophie turned back to her cooking and sighed. The little demon burner looked up at her from under the frying pan and quirked, "He's out like a light. He was up late finishing a spell of some sort, so you'll have to wake him with 'other' methods," with a mischievous smile.

Behind her, Sophie could hear Markl groaning and "ewwww"-ing at the thought of Sophie and Howl being all 'mushy' as he put it. She chuckled again, just imagining the look on the boy's face. Sure, the most they did was hold and kiss each other at the current moment, though she could only imaging what his reactions would be when her and Howl grew more intimate. Sophie could also hear the Witch mumbling about Calcifer behind her-old habits die hard, she supposed.

Sophie smiled slightly as she pressed the bacon down with her spatula. "I guess I'll have to go get him after I finish."

The bacon hissed as it fried in its own grease. Sophie put down her cooking utensil momentarily as she reached to get some eggs to cook. Calcifer eyed her movements from under the pan as she took an egg and cracked it on the hearth in a similar fashion she once saw Howl do. She skillfully brought the egg over the pan and let the yolk drop down without a single piece of shell mixed in. The pan sizzled some more with the new ingredient as Sophie looked knowingly at Calcifer's hopeful gaze.

"Hmm, now what will I do with these shells?" She said with a playful tone. She moved the shells around in her hand and made a motion that she was going to simply toss them over her shoulder.

"Sophie!" The fire demon whined in a very 'Howl-like manner'. "You're such a bully, and after I agreed to cook!"

Sophie giggled slightly and tried to send Calcifer an apologetic look, although her smile made it a bit difficult. "Oh I didn't mean it, Calcifer. Here you go." She gently tossed the egg remains under the pan, to which Calcifer hungrily gobbled them down.

"Yummy!"

Sophie looked over her shoulder slightly and began to add more eggs to her large pan. Markl looked a bit anxious, and she didn't want to make him and the rest wait for breakfast because she was acting silly. Picking her spatula back up, Sophie began to press and move the food contents of her pan around slightly, making sure everything was cooking evenly. Everything was just about done, might as well give Howl one last yell, otherwise she'd have to go up and wake him from his sleep herself.

Sophie looked over towards the staircase yet again, "HOWL, COME ON! BREAKFAST IS COOKED!"

Still nothing.

Sophie let her head drop with a sigh and lifted the pan off Calcifer. The fire demon groaned ever so lightly and just looked to the table, which was by now set and ready, as Sophie walked over with the steaming food.

"Markl." Sophie motioned for his plate, which he eagerly held near her with a smile as she scraped some eggs and bacon onto his dish.

"Granny." Sophie then scraped some breakfast onto the old woman's plate. Once those two were settled, Sophie then put some bacon on a smaller dish for Heen. Putting the frying pan with the remaining breakfast in the center of the table, she took the small dish and put it on the floor for the small dog. As much of a family member as Heen was, Howl refused to let him eat at the table anymore. He wasn't working as Suliman's errand-dog, which left him demoted to the lowly position of a house pet, so Howl stated he should act as such. Besides, it would make the castle look like a farmyard with animals running along the furniture! At least that was how Howl put it. And personally, Sophie didn't want to argue, it meant less of an effort to clean the table. Dogs had a nasty habit of leaving piles of fur in their wake.

Seeing as everyone present was taken care of, Sophie made her way around the table to the staircase, wiping her hands clear of the grease from cooking on her white apron. She rested her hand on the banister as she made her way upward with quick but gentle steps; the soles of her shoes making soft patting noises.

Sophie paused slightly at the first door. The bathroom was unoccupied, which meant Howl was still in his room.

"Howl!"

Still no sound answered her.

Sophie sighed and lifted her skirt slightly as she started up the second flight of stairs to get to Howl's room. Reaching the top step, she then made her way down the hall. She silently walked past the closed door to her room and continued onward.

With the remodeling of the moving castle, Howl decided to give Sophie a much bigger room for herself upstairs with him and Markl. He simply explained that if word got out about Howl making the poor girl sleep in a small, 'unfit' room, his reputation would be tarnished. Sophie did suspect there was some truth in that statement, it was Howl who said it after all. Even though his heart had been returned and he wasn't on the verge of turning into a large ball of feathers at least that was what she hoped, he still had yet to shed his childish self-centered ways. Oh well, things could have been worse, and Sophie wasn't complaining in the least.

Sophie was drawn out of her thoughts as she stopped in front of Howl's closed bedroom door. Taking a slight intake of breath, Sophie straightened her skirt a bit from the hike to the room and timidly lifted her hand to the door.

Knock. Knock.

"Howl?"

Sophie listened intently to try and decipher ANY sound that would hint that Howl had heard her. A few moments past and the only thing that answered her call was her own breathing. So she tried again.

"Howl!" She called with a forceful knock. "Howl, I'm coming in, alright?"

Still no answer, so Sophie took that as her cue to enter. She slowly took hold of the knob, hesitating slightly before pushing it down. She had a sort of 'love-hate' opinion towards Howl's room. It remained the same as it always was, and just as messy too. Even though the original castle collapsed within itself, once Howl recreated it, he made sure his room was to be EXACTLY as it originally was, down to the smallest detail the layers of dust included. Which meant it would simply be the filthiest room in the entire castle, and of course, the only cleaning that Sophie was permitted to do within his sleeping domain were his laundry, and the occasional dusting when the clouds grew out of control, even for Howl. Besides, as curious as Sophie was, a terrible trait that her Father always reminded her about in her youth, she dared not explore the hidden secrets of Howl's room. She knew well enough that most of the objects in that room were things Howl wasn't ready to fully part with from his childhood, but he was a wizard after all. Who knew what other things might be lurking within that magical dwelling. Being cursed an old woman made Sophie very wary of magic, no matter how useful it could be at points.

Yet, Sophie had to admit, if only to herself, that she liked his room very much. Although she preferred cleanliness over dust, there were times Sophie caught herself wandering around the room as she tried to gather Howl's clothing, observing all the small trinkets and charms which easily reminded her about a certain wizard she grew to care for, no matter how foolish or cowardly he acted. It was only till recently she figured out why she liked his room so very much.

Seeing all those precious memories and treasures that Howl so desperately wanted to hold on to reminded Sophie of her childhood. Back before she wandered into a moving castle, before she secluded herself to a dull life in a back room of a hat shop, she had treasures of her own, memories and stories she never wanted to forget, lining shelves and filling boxes within her childhood room. It made her remember how she would wander within her Father's room in her youth, hiding in his dressing closet or looking through all the keepsakes from his lifetime. She missed those days terribly. Things she always told herself she'd never forget, never let go of, but somehow did. In a small way, Sophie envied Howl because of that. He was able to hold on to precious, seemingly meaningless things, while she almost lost them. But when she looked at the toys and books in his bedroom, Sophie could feel herself being able to grasp those things she missed, just ever so slightly. It wasn't much, but to her, that was all she needed at the moment. That and Howl.

Howl!

Sophie shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. How long had she been thinking in front of Howl's door?

Musing……

Another bad habit she was getting into lately. Sophie berated herself silently and tried to get her full attention back to the task at hand: Howl.

With a push, the handle tilted downward and stopped with a soft click. Sophie pushed on the wooden door till it was slightly ajar, then she timidly stuck her head into the filthy room.

"Howl?" she asked in a gentle tone.

No answer greeted her. By now, she had already gotten a good look around the room. The room was as cluttered as ever. The carpet was musty, a few jackets and other articles of clothing lay scattered around, and Howl's colorful toys and trinkets filled almost every section of space in the room from wall to wall; the only things missing were his organic 'mobiles'.

Now, Sophie understood that in his cowardly mind, Howl truly believed he needed those horrid, foul smelling vegetables, dried squid, and fish carcasses that used to hang from his ceiling to ward off the old Witch in the past. She found herself wondering sometimes, how in the world could a man such as Howl could spend at least 8 to 10 hours inhaling the foul, salty stench of withered, rotten produce and fish and think of it as nothing. What puzzled her more, though, was not the fact that Howl slept with those things, but that every day, he smelt good – no- even she had to admit the man smelt wonderful. One would think 8 hours of being in rotten fish scented air would make the smell a permanent. Oh, the wonders of magic and perfumes…

There she went again.

The hand that was resting on the door tightened its grip slightly. Not to mention Sophie could feel her left eye twitching in irritation from her lack of focus.

Getting her thoughts out of the gutter, the Hatter girl glanced at the mass on Howl's bed and made her way over to it, making sure not to step on anything. The last thing she wanted was Howl going into a fit with green slime over the loss of one of his precious toys.

"Hmmm…." There was slight movement from the embroidered cover on the bed. A sign of life!

Sophie paused momentarily, thinking her steps had finally gotten the wizard out of his slumber, but when there wasn't movement again, she assumed he had just turned in his sleep. So, she continued her way over to the side of the bed. And low and behold, snuggled under his cover with a book held limply in his hand resting on the bed near his pillow, was the wizard, Howl. He laid on his side, face towards Sophie, and appeared to be curled up slightly, enjoying the warmth of his thick covering. His 'cleaning lady' smiled slightly; he was the picture of innocence – beautiful and blissfully unaware of anything at the moment. But her smile faded slowly when she noticed his face held a look of pure exhaustion and his eyes appeared to have black rings under his sockets. By the looks of things, Howl probably only got to sleep an hour, at most, before Sophie awakened this morning, and that would have been about 5am. Sophie sighed as she assessed the situation.

Now what was she to do? If she got Howl up now to give him breakfast, he'd either be very irate most of the day or he'd be falling asleep wherever he remained still for even the slightest moment. She hadn't forgotten the time when, after a previous all night spell study, Howl had come up behind her to ask her a question while she was cooking lunch at the hearth and ended up falling asleep on top of her in the minute she took to answer him. That stunt almost sent her face-first into Calcifer since her petite frame couldn't hold a man his stature very well. That would have been a pretty embarrassing and painful spill on her part. On the other hand, she could just let the wizard sleep in. The downside to that would be that he'd be awake most of the night, which would either leave him complaining or encourage him to work another all-nighter.

Ok, the latter seemed the easiest for her to deal with. A face-plant into burning logs was still too fresh in her mind to take a chance with. Besides, she'd just have to force him to bed at a reasonable time tonight. Plus he was wizard, and last time she checked, Howl was pretty fluent with sleep-inducing spells. Still, she should get him up for some answers.

With that settled, Sophie reached out and gently moved some of Howl's luscious, raven hair from his face, tenderly tucking it behind his ear. "Howl."

Howl inhaled deeply and snuggled into his pillow more, a gently smile curling on his lips. She almost had him, so she tousled the strands under her fingers a bit to see if that would awaken him more. Howl was very sensitive with his hair, as Sophie discovered, so it was the gentlest and most amusing way for her to get him up.

"Come on, Mr. Wizard, time to get up. Breakfast." She cooed to him after the tousling didn't succeed. She never liked getting woken up forcefully or with yelling in her youth, so she never used that tactic if she didn't have to.

When her words got no response, Sophie moved her hand to the top of his head and scratched his scalp with her fingertips. "Howl."

Howl's lips curled up more from the massaging as he tried to pry one of his eyes open. With some effort, the sluggish task was complete, and the wizard could lock gaze with Sophie. After a moment of registering who was in front of him, Howl tried to ease himself up a bit, tired smile still in place as he raised himself a few inches from his pillow and released his hold on the book next to him.

"Good to see you finally up, Sunshine." Sophie remarked as she scratched his head again.

Howl didn't answer, but just continued to smile. Sophie suspected his sleep-deprived mind didn't fully translate her message.

"I take it you were up late again and only got to sleep a few hours ago."

The wizard nodded his head once in a clumsy fashion.

"Well, I made breakfast, but it looks like you need a little more sleep. So, you go back to bed, and I'll wake you later for lunch. But you have to get up by then and eat something. I won't let you slither out, and that's a promise. Understand?" She stated with a small smile on her features.

Howl's smile held a hint of appreciation as he appeared to nod again, but his actions were now so clumsy that it looked like he rolled his head. Giving his head one final scratch, Sophie slowly took her hand away as Howl lowered his head back to his soft pillows. The second his head hit the softness, he was back in his dream world. Sophie smiled lovingly at the sight and removed the forgotten book from his bed and placed it on the nightstand next to her. With a turn, Sophie made her way back across the room and went to the door. She looked over her shoulder at the sleeping wizard, whispered a 'sweet dreams', and softly closed the door behind her.

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Sophie stood near the sink as she scrubbed the crusted on grease on the frying pan from breakfast. Breakfast was finished quite some time ago, leaving Sophie to clean up as everyone went about their ways for the day. Markl and the Witch were out in the yard area of the castle. The boy was out playing with Heen, while the old woman was either resting in one of the chairs or reading. Calcifer was in the hearth next to her, crackling upon his logs, amusing himself one way or another. Howl, of course, was still in his room sleeping, and Sophie, well, cleaning.

She held the pan under the water to rinse off the soap bubbles. Oh how she loved Sundays. Usually the day in which all the stores were closed, the flower shop and Howl's other businesses included. Which meant, she didn't have to deal with any people in the shops or run out to get flowers or supplies or…anything. Well, besides cleaning, she always had to deal with that. If she wasn't the one to do it, then it was never to be done. But it was work she didn't mind having. Sophie actually enjoyed it a little, she wasn't sure why. She remembered she grew an obsession with cleaning years ago and she knew she had a reason for it, but at the moment, all she could draw was a blank.

Sophie just turned off the water and took the frying pan from the sink to dry it properly when a loud banging at the door caught her attention. Curious as to who would be visiting on a Sunday, she put the pan in the drying rack and turned to Calcifer as she dried her wet hands on her apron.

"It's the Kingsbury door," the fire demon told her as the banging continued.

"Kingsbury? But the shop's closed for today, I'm sure I remembered to put the sign out." Sophie stated as she drew closer to the door.

The banging was loud and rapid, which meant the person knocking was very desperate to get attention from house. "Just a moment," Sophie called as she turned the color dial to the Kingsbury entrance and opened the door.

Calcifer leaned out of his hearth slight, now very curious about who the guest was, but made sure he was safe from falling to the floor or having the visitor see him clearly. Sophie, on the other hand, was a bit shocked. The person who was banging on the door was a young boy about the age of 14, with shoulder length bright, blonde hair kept in a very neat clean-cut fashion. He wore a light yellow outfit with a frilled collar and white shorts, including white leggings and dark brown shoes. All in all, a taller blonde clone of child Howl.

"Greetings, Ma'am! I have a message for—" But the poor boy didn't get to finish.

"I'm sorry, but Wizard Pendragon is terribly occupied for the day," Sophie lied.

Well, it wasn't a full lie; Howl was occupied – with sleeping. Plus, even though the poor boy looked very innocent and decent with his polite words and friendly smile, it didn't fool her one bit. She knew exactly who he was; not personally, but she knew he was a pageboy for Howl's old master, Madame Suliman. Sure, he seemed to be of an older variety than the group she saw at the last encounter, but the look gave him away fully. And, now that she met Suliman head on and understood Howl's concern for the eccentric he called a teacher, Sophie figured this was one of those situations she would let him hide in her shadow from. At least for now…

With her intrusion, the pageboy looked a bit surprised, but it quickly faded and he smiled at the girl in the doorframe again.

"Oh, I beg you pardon, Ma'am. This message," he held out a white envelope to her, decorated with golden trimmings and perfect script writing on the front, "is for a Mrs.," the pageboy smiled knowingly at her, a sort of cunning, 'I know this name is false'- smile, "Pendragon."

Sophie blinked at the page. Well, this was … unexpected…

"What?"

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A/N: Hmmmm my my, the plot thickens XD

Sorry for the long wait, 3 major art classes and college stuff tends to make things go on hold. Not to mention my ideas for this were running low for the trasition stuff. But I have to throw a big thanks out to my friend, Jie – or Princess-of-Confetti here on fanfiction. We've been talking almost every day, exchanging ideas and critiquing and it's been uber fun.

Anyway, for some explaining, yes, it seems that Sophie spaces out a lot, but I have a reason. I'm actually basing her on myself a bit since I sorta act like Sophie; cleaning included although I wish I looked as nice as her XD But, now that she doesn't have to worry and concentrate on her hat making anymore, she has more time to think of things which creates more for her to worry about. With this will come scatterbrain-ness, musing, spacing out, things like that.

Also, her and Howl aren't married yet; the only thing changed really from the movie is that Sophie has a nice room upstairs, whee for her. And I know, that the Kingsbury entrance was taken out after the Suliman incident in the movie, but for my sake we'll just say it was put back in. 

Jie, if you start complaining to be about that, I'll jump through MSN and so kick your ass, I so will!

Oh, and one more thing, from this point on, it would be smart to pay close attention to Sophie's musings, otherwise you'll get lost or confused later in the story. But if you read my story description, you could easily understand and foresee some things.

I'll try to update faster, feel free to give ideas.


	3. Message

Disclaimer: Me no own the Howl…or Sophie. I want that little mouse, she's so cute and clean. XD

Recap: Things seem to be a normal day for the occupants of the moving castle. Howl's sleeping in due to an all night work session and Sophie appears to have received a message from the palace in Kingsbury.

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Message

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"What?"

Sophie was still a bit confused on this whole manner. She was a simple cleaning lady; she wasn't involved in magic or politics. So, why she was receiving a message from the Royal Palace, namely Madame Suliman?

"The head sorceress, Madame Suliman, wishes this be sent to a 'Mrs. Pendragon' of Kingsbury. It is urgent and advised not to ignore this message," the determined pageboy stated as he held the envelope out to Sophie again.

Seeing how she really had little choice in the matter, Sophie hesitantly took the envelope from the boy and held it in her two hands, looking at the neat handwriting on the front. She was still a bit wary of anything dealing with Howl's old mentor. It really wouldn't have surprised her if the second she touched the stiff white paper, it either exploded in her face or she'd be cursed back into an old woman. But, nothing out of the ordinary happened. The little white envelope just remained held within her fingers; the writing staring at her as if it were a face.

With his job done, the page gave a curt and polite bow, "Thank you. Have a _lovely_ day, Ma'am." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked to the street where a royal car, complete with driver was waiting for him. Once the young messenger was in his seat, the driver gave a nod to Sophie, who was still at the door, and drove off in the direction of the palace.

Sophie remained where she was, following the car with her eyes until it had turned up one of the main roads and she could no longer see it properly. She shook her head at the fuss for just a message and turned to go back inside, closing the door behind her. She wasn't blind, or ignorant. She saw the driver clearly; he too had blonde hair and a similar cut. The only difference was that he was even older than the messenger and had a green uniform similar to the one Howl wore during the previous meeting with Suliman. Sophie had a suspicion about the inner workings of the palace. How could it be possible to have numbers of boys who all looked the same, working in a similar job. Sure, magic could alter hair and clothing, but facial appearance? And, WHY would a sort of set criteria to look like that be required if one wanted to work within the palace?

Sophie made a sort of face to herself; eyes closed into tiny slit lines and a frown gracing her lips. Her father was right in living in Market Chipping. He always said Kingsbury had the most bizarre way of things; she never understood him until a short time ago. Her father really was brilliant; he certainly had the most common sense of any man she knew-Howl included. She didn't mean to 'betray' Howl on his intelligence; she thought he was very smart, but she had to be truthful.

Sophie was knocked out of the umpteenth musing for the day when Calcifer made a rather loud crackle in the hearth. Whether it was on purpose or random, she couldn't say. But the little demon was giving her a confused glance as he leaned out from his grate. Probably because of her bizarre thinking face.

Sophie gave Calcifer a small, embarrassed smile and made her way to the table. As she walked, she looked over the letter in her hands – front and back, back and front. Putting the letter on the table for a moment, she still stared at it as she pulled out her chair and placed herself into it. Then she picked the envelope up again and looked like she was ready to open it, but hesitated and just stared good and long at its white color. This, of course, drew Calcifer's attention even more.

"So, what's that? A message for Howl? A love letter perhaps," he remarked with a teasing tone at the girl.

Sophie shook her head, still looking at the letter, most likely debating internally to either open it or ignore it for fear of a trick from Suliman.

"No, it's for me. Surprisingly enough, it came from the Palace," she flipped the message over to the back and started inspecting the sealed flap carefully, "Apparently from Madame Suliman; one of her pageboys delivered it."

Calcifer gave a surprised, if not shocked, look to that. "Are you sure it's from Howl's teacher? Or that it's for you, for that matter?"

Sophie gave a curt nod, "It is definitely for me; my name is across the front. And, I'm willing to wager it is from Madame Suliman. I would attempt another stroll in the sky on my own if it is not from her."

"Wow, daring, aren't we, Miss Hatter," Calcifer cackled.

"Hmmmm. But what I am concerned about is just opening the thing. I have this horrid feeling that if I break the seal, I will end up cursed again or worse."

"You don't have to worry. There's no magic on it. It's just a regular old letter," Calcifer said in a casual tone.

Well, that made Sophie feel better. Calcifer was a powerful demon. From what she'd seen in the past, Calcifer was the one to be asked when it involved magic, at least if Howl wasn't present. He seemed to know a lot more than she'd ever credit him for. Probably because all he seemed to be was magical energy.

"Well, if you are sure."

With that, Sophie gently slipped her finger under the envelope's flap and pulled it. The royal stamp seal separated and she lifted the flap fully, easily retrieving the folded parchment from its containment. Discarding the envelope on the table, Sophie give a quick twist in her wrist to straighten the letter by flattening out its creases. Now that the message was open and she didn't wrinkle or burst into flames, it was time to see what the fuss was about.

* * *

_Dear Mrs. 'Pendragon',_

_It appears to be that you and your gifted son are doing rather well since our last encounter. The visit was rather fun; the most excitement I have had in ages. I must say, I am terribly envious of you. Being able to run about and pilot aircrafts at the crisp age of 90. You really are a dear._

_But I suppose I really should refrain from 'beating around the bush' and explain this message. As I am sure that you are aware, questionable acts are beginning to become a usually activity involving the younger generation these days. I am far too aware of these incidents and I have some questions on my mind. From our last meeting, I can tell you are a very intelligent woman and may have the important answers I seek. So I think it would be appropriate for us to chat again. _

_I request that you report to the Royal Palace as soon as you are able. The sooner the better, you understand. It would be in your best interest to get this meeting behind you the day you receive this message. I have informed all the guards and attendants to have special priority regarding you. So, time is not an issue. Our little chat should not be too terribly long. _

_By the way, you do not need to put aside your duties on account for this meeting. I would like to meet with you very quickly, within the day of notice, but it is not so urgent that I request you to drop all activities. I suppose you could say that I am just impatient._

_I look forward to meeting again. Until then._

_Madame Suliman_

_PS. I also request that you do not bring Howl. There really is no need for him present, since this is a meeting between the two of us. Besides, it would be rather rude for him to create any disturbances, such as impersonating His Majesty or almost leading the royal air guards to disaster. _

* * *

Sophie slammed the letter flat on the table as she tried to keep her temper in control. Really, that woman was ridiculous! Not to mention a complete hypocrite. Demanding-no that word was too merciful to describe a trait of Suliman; threatening sounded more appealing. Yes, pretty much threatening her to come to the palace while trying to hide it with her smooth words and 'oh don't rush, take your time' nonsense. Sophie let out a frustrated sigh so she wouldn't burst from her emotions. 

"What's it say," Calcifer asked as he eyes the letter under Sophie's palms.

She cast her eyes in the demon's direction, her frustrated face never faulting. "Madame Suliman is 'requesting' for me to go meet at the Royal Palace in Kingsbury."

If Calcifer couldn't read the annoyance on her face (and he'd be blind to not see it), the venom dripping from her voice made her feelings all too clear.

"Don't tell me she's trying to get Howl again!"

Sophie just shook her head. "No. That is the only good thing in this message. She apparently wishes to question me about something. I am not entirely sure on the subject though. But, at least Howl does not appear to be involved. Although, I doubt that I could get him to go back, anyway."

She let out a tired sigh and folded the message back up before slipping it into the envelope. Tossing the wretched thing to the other end of the table, Sophie folder her arms on the tabletop and buried her face into them, letting out an annoyed moan as she did so.

"So………are you going?"

Sophie lifted her face from her arms and looked to the hearth again. "I really have little choice. If I ignore the letter, another will be following. Plus, Suliman made her request on a rather threatening level. I would be more worried of what she would do if I ignored the note rather than what she has planned for my arrival."

Calcifer took hold of a fresh log and dragged it into his grate, his eyes never leaving Sophie as he spoke. "Looks like you're stuck going. Why not bring Howl, you'd have some defense on your part."

Sophie shook her head. "That appears out of the question. Howl's old mentor made it rather clear that she wants him out of this matter. She most likely mentioned it to give me more reason to come. She is rather tactful; I give her that. But, if she wanted Howl again, I would personally make it my business to wring her neck."

Calcifer snickered as Sophie held her nose high at her bold statement. "I would love to see you do it, Sophie! I'd take my chances with water at the chance to view something like that."

She snorted at his remark, "You just wait! If she tries anything sneaky, I'll give that Suliman a good piece of my mind. I did it before, and I will more than willingly do it again."

This brought on more laughter from the fire. "Oh my, a bit protective, aren't we, Miss Hatter?"

"Tease me, if you will, but it is the truth! And I really have no desire in doing this!"

"So when are you supposed to see Ol' Suliman," Calcifer asked.

"The message said whenever it was convenient for me. Just as long as it was in close time duration upon receive the letter. I, for one, am making sure to hold off going as long as possible. I want to enjoy my Sunday without Howl's master ruining it."

Calcifer was impressed, to say the least. Sophie looked rather timid, as Calcifer thought her to be with her small stature and cute face. But oh no, if Sophie was anything, she was downright stubborn. She would fight to the very end, not backing down and throwing 'proper lady etiquette' to the wind. And, that's what made her rather scary at points.

"And what would be your course of action? It's not like you to laze about. That's Howl's job."

Sophie just shook her head and held a determined look. "I don't know, nor do I honestly care at the moment. I'll walk around my neighborhood, I'll visit Lettie, I'll go shopping, I'll clean; I do not really care what I do. I'm even debating about imitating Howl for the day and take a six hour long soak in the bath!"

…_..Whoa…._

That was about all the fire demon's mind could register. To put it blankly, he was flabbergasted. He knew the only thing Sophie hated more than a mess was lazing about and feeling useless. And here she was, OFFERING to replace Howl for the day as he slept the work session off. Then again, Sophie had understandable reasons for it. First off, it was better to see Suliman than to ignore her, especially when she wanted something. Also, if the message wasn't serious and Sophie wasn't required to venture to Kingsbury at the very given moment, it seemed rather silly to ruin the day by seeing Suliman. A lovely day as it was at the moment would be a sin to waste! Besides, Sophie playing Howl amused Calcifer to no end. It was one of those things that he couldn't even imagine in his head. He'd have to see it to believe it.

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Every so often, one of those days, a day in which absolutely NOTHING interesting happens, seems to pop up unexpectedly and it really ruins a person's mood. That kind of day would put anyone to sleep- in the middle of the afternoon no less. That's exactly how he felt.

He was falling asleep. He was that bored. The kind of bored where the only way to pass the time would be to stare at the clouds or watch the blades of grass grow. Well, he did watch mold spread on some of the roof shingles on the local housing once. He even counted the shingles that had some type of bacteria-like material growing on it. The total turned out to be about 5,381; in the few blocks he checked anyway.

But, yeah, he was bored. So bored at the moment he had no enthusiasm to even try to relieve his boredom. He reclined on the roof of a house, laying on his side with his head propped up with his arm so he could watch the streets as cars going at 3 miles per hour made their way on the pavement. He was forced to stay in that position. If he stood up or turned onto his back, he'd definitely roll off the roof, either by slipping off in his non-active state or by losing consciousness.

He would definitely survive the fall; he was too strong to be killed by something so simple. It was the fact that everyone would see him spread-eagle on the concrete that bothered him. Sure, he'd get over the embarrassment-eventually- but it was the fact that everyone would be there, crowding around him in a tight circle, dropping all their chores and duties just to marvel at something in pain or less fortunate then themselves. He loathed that with a passion that burned brighter than a fire demon that fell from the heavens. People were really stupid, in his opinion. Well, most of them anyway. There would be that one, sole decent human being that would push past the crowd and try to help, while the rest just gawked in horror and fascination. If they seemed so interested in grotesque things like that, then people really needed lives.

Well, the fact of the matter was that he wasn't going to fall off the roof, and that was that.

"Man, what a day. Days like this make me wish I could hibernate whenever I wanted! Boredom is the worst disease anyone could get." He pouted slightly as he watched a trolley bus, packed as usual, go up a main road.

"Pfft, Kingsbury is a nice looking city. But that's all it's good for; it's nice looking. Royalty has got to be the most unexciting aspect in the world! For such a 'wonderfully magnificent' place, it sure lacks action."

And he meant it. With all the disappearances in numerous towns and the end of the war finishing itself, one would think Kingsbury would be rustling and bustling- since it held most of the military and air forces within the city. But no, the most excitement that seemed to be going on was a random dog that somehow broke from its leash and was romping about with its new freedom. It wouldn't last long; like his attention.

He sighed and stood up, bending backwards to stretch his spine. "Well I've had enough of this. Might as well try to find something to amuse myself. I have nothing better to do."

So, he turned, settling his hands into his side pant pockets, and stalked off parallel to the street below him as he walked along the shingled top of the roof.

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"Oh! ….Now where is that—Ow! Drat!"

Calcifer and Markl idled in the square courtyard of their Market Chipping home, watching as Sophie was trying to do………something……… in the cut out area of one of the court walls. It was designated for knick-knacks and supplies meant for outside or that wouldn't fit in the house. Well technically, it was the possessions of Sophie's late father, which he kept there while he was alive and previous to the whole moving castle adventure.

Amazing how Sophie's stepmother didn't do anything with them when she sold the shop……isn't it? She probably forget that the storage space even existed, since it had nothing to do with her really.

The house's other occupants had never concerned themselves with the small cub space before that afternoon. In her desperation to 'waste her time', Sophie unexpectedly marched out to the courtyard and proceeded to work her 'magic' on the small space. Markl and the fire demon were brought to the yard when they started hearing yelling, loud bangs, crashes, and slightly vulgar mumbling from Sophie.

"Oh, come now! Don't be stubborn; I need to get to that!"

Calcifer floated near Markl's shoulder as they stared at the cloud of dust starting to billow out from the compartment. All of Sophie's meddling upset the layers of dust and it began to fill the entire courtyard. Markl shut his eyes and turned away as he fanned the air to try and relieve himself of the dust around him. Calcifer just sneezed, sparkling a bright red from the small burst.

"Ouch! Now why did you have to go and do that for," Sophie shouted again from the dark space.

Markl gave the demon a sidelong glance. "Who is she talking to, Calcifer?"

"I don't think she's talking to anyone. I noticed she has a habit of speaking to things that shouldn't answer back," the demon replied in a hushed tone. The way the fire's eyes slit ever so slightly gave Markl the hint that Calcifer was trying to imply that maybe Sophie wasn't as sane as she should be at her young age.

Markl giggled quietly at the demon, "Master Howl says it's because Sophie always likes to have the last word."

The two snickered at their witty commentary, that is, until a sarcastic voice chipped it.

"_I can hear every word you two utter, you know_."

….Caught in the act…..

Calcifer and the apprentice silenced their laughter when they were caught. Sophie seemed to be good at something else besides talking to things that shouldn't answer; she tended to hear things that she shouldn't……

Calcifer drew his gaze back to Sophie's storage area, hoping to try and change the subject. "So, what exactly are you doing, Sophie?"

Some more shuffling came from the space, followed by a rusty, dented shovel being tossed out and landing on the ground with a loud '_TWANG_'. But, Sophie was still well hidden within the storage.

"Well, I was hoping to find an extra bucket in here. I know Papa used to keep one in here somewhere, but it looks like I'll need to clean and organize everything to even hope of finding anything useful in this mess."

"Your father?" Markl questioned as more banging erupted from the dark layer.

"Yes, he was a bit of a packrat. He hated throwing things away, especially if they held dear memories. Although, he also liked to keep everything he could; like these."

Sophie's statement was followed shortly as two black lumps came flying out of the storage and landed unceremoniously to the ground. Markl jumped back, slightly startled by the things in front of him, which turned out to be a worn out pair of rubber boots. The things were horrid; there was dirt and moss caked along the bottom, with holes and spider webs lacing the top layer of the boots. Not to mention, they weren't the most fragrant pair of footwear around.

"_Ewwwww!_" Markl had to hold his nose from the musty stench.

"Exactly. By the way, is Howl awake yet? I suppose I'm a little late for his wake up call," said Sophie.

'A little late' was an understatement, what with it being around 4 in the afternoon now….

Calcifer floated a little closer to the opening as he spoke. Behind him, Markl had found a stray stick on the floor and was probing the old boots with it.

"Actually, he was up an hour ago. But, as usual, he's still in his bath. I doubt he'll be downstairs in less than another hour."

The small demon squinted his round eyes slightly, trying to decipher the contents of the space in its darkness. But even with the light his body gave off, it was still hard to make things out properly. That was because Calcifer didn't know what most of the items in the room were.

"So, when do you plan to see Suliman?" The little demon asked.

"I would like to say 'till after I get this big mess underhand', but I think that would take a little too long. So I guess I should start getting ready now."

A few things in the storage shifted as Sophie tried to make her way out. As she pushed a rather large board of some sort to the side, she stopped.

"Oh wow! I don't believe it!"

Calcifer floated from side to side, trying to get a better look into the storage space. "What? What is it?"

Sophie bent down and rummaged a bit, then gathered whatever she found in her arms and tried to make her way past the objects in her way. Whatever she was carrying must have been pretty heavy, since Sophie seemed to be clutching it to prevent herself from dropping the thing and her movements were slightly sluggish.

Once Sophie was able to get out from the storage, Calcifer could finally see what she was carrying. Markl looked up from his poking and stared just as curiously as Calcifer. In her arms was a large statue of some kind. It looked like an animal of some type, but the distinguishing features were blocked by Sophie's arms and body.

Taking a few steps away from the storage place, Sophie tried to ease the heavy load to the ground as gently as she could. Unfortunately, its weight became a little too much for her and it hit the paving of the courtyard with a loud bang from its base. Luckily, she got her fingers away fast enough.

"Ahhh! What is it, Sophie," Markl asked as he rushed over in his excitement for a closer look at the statue.

"Yeah, what exactly is this thing," Calcifer questioned as he floated near Sophie.

Sophie giggled at their curiosity. "His name's Goliath. My father received him as a gift a long time ago. We used to keep him in the front of the hat shop."

The statue was about 2½ ft high, gray in color, with a decorative circular base with the word 'WELCOME' sculpted on a plaque looking shape on the front. Sitting upon the base was a feline creature. He sat proudly on the base with his head up high and long tail partially curled around his hind feet. The statue's cat face looked of a variation between a tiger and a lynx, with it's strong snout and pointed ears. The stone fur looked rather shaggy; some areas having flat thin fur, while other parts, like the back of the neck and the sides of the face, had a more full amount of fur.

"He was supposed to be a newspaper holder, but no one was ever brave enough to put the paper in his mouth. So he was just a welcome ornament for the shop," Sophie continued, crouching down slightly so she could open the statue's mouth to show Calcifer and Markl what she was talking about.

Inside the beast's mouth was a top and bottom row of teeth. The statue certainly had detail; if a wizard ever decided to charm the thing, those teeth could certainly put a hurting on whoever it bit.

"So, why was he put away," Markl asked, as he played with the statue's hinged jaw, opening and closing the mouth, sometimes moving it in a fashion as if to make the statue talk.

"Mother didn't like Goliath as much as Papa or me. She said he was scaring off customers for the shop, so my father had to move him. He couldn't just throw Goliath away. So, he put him in storage until he could get Mother to cave in and let him out front again," Sophie said.

Markl stopped moving the mouth as he turned to look up at Sophie as he spoke. Calcifer, in the meanwhile, ventured very close to the statue's face and tried to look into the creature's agape mouth. "You mean that lady who came in the flower shop that one time?"

"Yes, that was her."

Sophie watched as Markl closed the mouth of the statue abruptly, still looking her in the face. Unfortunately, Calcifer wasn't finished looking and was met with perpetual blackness as the hinged jaw came up and encased him within the mouth. The boy finally turned his attention when Calcifer waved his small flame arms on either side of the mouth, while he yelled within his containment.

Markl tried to apologize as best he could as he opened the statue for the fire demon, but he was far from pleased. Once Calcifer was able to escape the mouth, he streamed around in angry circles around Markl and Goliath. After a few runs, he stopped to shoot the child and ferocious glare and zoomed off back indoors.

"I guess he's real angry now, isn't he, Sophie," the boy asked as he looked up to her again.

Sophie ruffled his hair playfully. "He'll cool off. But, in the mean time, since Mother isn't here anymore, I guess we can put Goliath out front again. With a little clean-off, he'll be ready to be put outside."

"Clean-off?"

Sophie nodded and motioned to the thick layer of dust and dirt crusted on the statue's head. Apparently, Markl had missed that fact and turned his palms up to inspect them. The jaw suffered from the dust as well, since the palms of both his hands were covered with so much dust that his skin had turned completely gray.

"Ewwww," he cried as he furiously scrubbed his hands together to get the dirt off, but it only made it worse.

Sophie laughed softly at his and took his small hands in hers.

"Here," she said as she used the apron tied at her waist to wipe of the dirt from his fingers and hers as well.

"Come on, I have to start getting ready for my meet with Madame Suliman," Sophie said as she ushered Markl indoors, leaving Goliath in the courtyard to worry about later.

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"At least let me come in disguise, Sophie…."

"No."

"I'll think of a perfect one this time, Madame Suliman will never suspect—"

"I said no."

"But, I can't let you go alone, Sophie!"

"You didn't have a problem sending me alone as your old mother."

"That was different! She was after me, not you. And I followed you, like a good 'son'!"

"You're digressing, Howl…."

"Then let me just – "

"Howl," Sophie growled as she massaged the bridge of her nose in irritation. This silly nonsense had been going on the moment she explained the letter to Howl, which was about 30 minutes ago.

She was flattered and a bit embarrassed that he was making such a fuss over her, usually it was the other way around, but it was getting rather annoying now. He wasn't allowed to come and that should have been it, but Howl, being the child that he was, was determined to have his way. Good thing Sophie wouldn't allow him to get away with anything like that.

"I already told you, the letter specifically stated that you, 'The Great Wizard Howl'-'Howl Pendragon'-'Howl Jenkins', was not to come to the Palace."

She had him there. He usually liked to play the game where if she mentioned one name, he'd use the other alias as an excuse to defy the rules, but right now, Sophie wasn't in the mood to play with him. She had a certain Madame to see and wanted it to be fast, simple, and painless.

Seeing he was outsmarted, the wizard crossed his arms over his chest and pouted as he gazed at the floor.

"It's not fair. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. I was being unselfish, if you didn't notice!" He still refused to meet her gaze as he stared at the floor.

Nice try, Mr. Wizard… 

Sophie let out a sigh and her eyes softened on him. "Howl…"

The gentle tone of her voice drew Howl's attention. "I know you are worried for me. I feel very touched because of it. But you have to understand; I worry about you as well. The letter requested that you stay home, and if you disobey you could get in a mess of trouble. They can even arrest you. And, I don't want to see that happen. I promise I'll take extra care and get home as soon as I can."

Howl shuffled his feet slightly. He could never compete against the girl when she decided to be noble. No matter how childish he could act, he just couldn't compare and he'd break down. Curse her! He was supposed to be able to weasel out of anything he wanted.

"….All right. You win this time. But I'll win the next round."

Sophie smiled up at the wizard and secured her shawl around her shoulders. It would be dark soon, and a hat would be pointless to wear now. Making sure her letter was in her dress pocket, Sophie began to walk towards the door, Howl not too far from her heels.

She daintily hurried down the steps and opened the door. Sensing Howl close behind, she turned as he held the door open for her, leaning down from his step about her.

"Make sure you come back as soon as you can. I get bored easily and I do not like to wait for things," he tried to sound as vain as he could for her.

"If you could wait a number of years for me to return your heart, I think you'll do just fine waiting a few more hours until I get back."

Howl frowned upon her.

"Now that was very cruel, Sophie."

Sophie just countered his frown with a smug look, "Well, if you're afraid you'll become too bored in my absence; I have something I'd like you to do for me."

"Ooooh?" That peeked Howl's interest. Doing jobs for Sophie usually meant gratifying rewards on his part. "And what would that be, I wonder?"

Sophie turned her body fully around to face him, even though he still towered over her, more than usual, from his step. "Well there's a statue in the courtyard behind the shop. He's rather dirty and I figured a clever wizard such as yourself would have no problem making him all clean for when I return."

"You seem to have such confidence that I'll do it."

"Well, won't you?" Sophie asked, trying to look as innocent and cute as she would allow herself to be. Apparently it worked since Howl obliged.

"All right then. I'll have it cleaned before you get back."

Sophie smiled gratefully up at the wizard and turned back to the open door way. "Well, I really need to get on my way then. I'll see you when I finish, and don't wait for me for dinner. I don't know how long I'll be kept there."

And with that, she walked out.

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A/N: ARRRRRRRRRRRG . Man guys, I am so sorry. This was supposed to be put out weeks ago But things came up like my film festival, art show, and English readings. And, this chapter was going to be WAAAAAAAAAAY longer since I wanted it to end at certain point, but a friend suggested I cut it, and I felt it needed to be done too. Imagine how long it would have taken XD.

I was hoping to get this out by the 7th of March to celebrate the release of the Howl DVD, so I hope all you Howl fans purchased it ha! I beat you all, I got mine in December. BUT what really prevented me from finishing and updating was the picture I did for the dvd release. That managed to get out by the 7th, and is very popular among my friends. It's on my deviantart page.I'd put the actual link, but fanfiction wont allow it, but it's ont he main page of my gallery, my name there is fruitsexual. But if you have issues with that, just email or im me, and I'll send it. I normally dont brag like this, but even I admit it's uber cute and awesome XD

Not too sure when I can get the next chapter out, I'm sorta in an art/writing block, so if anyone has ideas or requests, feel free to send them. Plus, reviews make me update faster. hint hint


	4. Foul Play

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing, just for some fun.

So shocking, an update after….6 years. Great progress. But to be honest, when I was writing this story, I was just finishing high school if I remember. I put my focus on my work, finding a proper college, and figuring what I wanted to do in the future that a fanfiction story…well it sort of had to take a back seat. And I honestly forgot about it overtime. But lo and behold, a message popped up in my email about a review. Curious, I read it and was shocked to realize I did indeed have a fanfiction account and a story to one of my favorite animated movies.

Upon re-reading, I was a bit shocked that it wasn't too god awful and then I kind of got mad at myself for not even going anywhere on something. Hell, for being a stupid teenager and not even doing something properly. So I thought, hey my life is pretty chill right now, I'm in a good place, let's do it! Let's try to finish something, even if it's a bad story. So, that's honestly where it came from. This may be a good thing, guys, afterall, I'm 6 years smarter and more experienced. It may improve my writing… or you know, have made it worse. But I have most of the story planned out now and reworked slightly so hopefully I can get it done. I'm really gonna try guys, so here's hoping!

IMPORTANT: Just a quick note about the layout of the castle, while I imagine it to be very similar to the Market Chipping setup, maybe with bigger rooms and actual bedrooms for everyone upstairs [minus the witch cause she's old and should be downstairs lol] the portal colors are **red, blue, yellow**, and **green**. Red for kingsbury, blue for Porthaven, Yellow for the secret garden, and Green is now Market chipping. Black is intentionally gone because…well howl doesn't need it anymore, plus if he desired he can make any portal temporarily black for his own use. How? Because he's a wizard *sparkles*

As for the Wastes, it has it's own separate door aside from the yard/patio thing, towards the back, almost like a basement entrance so that anyone can leave the castle at any time regardless of the front door [provided the castle isn't flying lol] I notice that most writers tend to never explain their door setup, usually going back to kingsbury and porthaven without explaining the colors.

~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8

Foul Play

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"This way, Ma'am," an attendant announced as he began to walk through the elaborate halls.

Sophie silently followed the young man. The soles of their shoes clacked almost in sync as they walked on the finely polished floors of the Palace.

Sophie rolled her eyes, a very unladylike act mind you, and looked at the intricate portraits of the ancestors of the Royal Family as she walked down another hall behind her guide. She did not like this one bit, not one bit. This whole affair was making her stomach turn in the most unpleasant of ways. Her eyes casually shifted about her, looking at every passed doorway, every dark corner, and even every person her and her guide passed. Considering how smoothly her last 'visit' to the Palace played out, Sophie realized she would have to be constantly vigilant while here.

The young blonde leading her calmly turned another corner. Sophie noticed they weren't following the same path as last time, then again, _that_ passage was a bit of a secret, she surmised. Thinking back to it, she wondered what kind of twisted trap she was being corralled into now: locked in the dungeon, a room with collapsing walls, a drowning chamber? Oh the possibilities.

Fortunately, before her mind could continue on its death trail, the page calmly stopped in front of an ornate door. Looking it over, Sophie noticed it was rather plain, despite its bright polish and simple carvings, but elegant none-the-less. The young boy opened the door and stepped aside as he gestured for her to enter.

"Please enter, Ma'am."

The young Hatter gave him a wary sidelong glance before stepping into the room. The moment she passed the frame, the door was calmly shut behind her with a sound click. Sophie stiffened slightly, not liking the idea of being enclosed in any part of this Palace - with these people. Regardless, she steeled herself and put on a determined face. She could do this! She'd talk with Suliman, say her fill, and eagerly run back to the castle as fast as her youthful legs could carry her [which was pretty fast!]. And if she detected any type of threat to Howl or the rest of her family, she'd happily start clobbering any and all in her path.

Stepping into the room, she noticed it must have been some sort of study. There were towering bookshelves utterly filled to the brim with reading material on either wall. A few tables overflowing with paper and glass vials were scattered about the room as well. There was a golden trimmed globe that casually turned all its own next to one of the desks filled with other strange looking objects. The study actually reminded her a touch of Howl's bedroom, aside that while there was a lot of material, everything was organized and seemed to have a feminine air about it.

Madame Suliman's study, she realized.

And there, sitting elegantly upon her cushioned wheeled throne behind a large desk in front of a too large set of windows was the sorceress herself. She smiled kindly at Sophie, but Sophie could see her eyes were sharp, narrowed, and observant of her. The older woman hadn't changed at all from the last time Sophie saw her, even though the young Hatter's appearance was now drastically different. Part of Sophie wondered if Madame Suliman was curious about the breaking of her curse, while another meaner part, that Sophie usually reserved to deal with bullies, merely wanted to push the woman off that chair she rolled herself about in. Stepping closer to the desk, Sophie daintily sat herself upon a cushioned chair in front of it at the sorceresses gesture.

"Ah, Mrs. Pendragon, so wond-"

"Sophie." The older woman looked a touch surprised at the outburst but only smiled and patiently waited for the girl to continue.

"My name is actually Sophie Hatter. Since I lack the guise of an old woman, there's no sense in still pretending to be addressed as such."

Sophie stared hard at Suliman across the desk while she sat with her arms casually crossed over her chest. Her delicate lips a fine line, just barely dipping down, bordering on the edges of a frown. She was not happy to be here, to be speaking with this woman after all she'd done, and Sophie was not going to pretend otherwise.

Now, seeing first hand what this woman was capable of, not just with her magic, but by her ability for manipulation alone, Sophie should have been terrified. Sophie was common, not in looks any longer, but that she lacked magic, fighting skills, and defense.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, none of those rational points could currently reach Sophie's rational mind. No, all that was swirling about within Sophie was anger when she looked at the woman across the desk. Pure seething anger…anger for this woman blackmailing her stepmother, anger for constantly causing her and the castle to be uprooted during the war, but mostly…anger for threatening her new and dear family. Merely remembering how this woman terrified Howl to the point of tantrums and green slime, then cornering him into using his demonic powers and almost getting him killed to protect his home, had Sophie seeing red.

While Sophie never approved, and even chided Howl on his tantrums, no one other than herself was _ever_ allowed to fill that man with terror. So help this woman if she tried something, Sophie scowled to herself.

"Sophie Hatter, then. I see you've grown quite…spry since last I saw you. I am rather envious. How is my old apprentice Howl doing? I heard he had a bit of trouble some time ago."

Sophie couldn't contain the twitch in her left eye as she spoke, "He's wonderful. Magnificent, even! Wizards tend to be like that when their heart is popped into their chest."

Madame Suliman smiled at Sophie as she groused across from her. She could read her thoughts almost as if she were an open book. The young Hatter said nothing more, but her eyes spoke louder than any yelling could, and it made Suliman smile. This young woman was vibrant and direct; the sorceress had to respect that. If she asked Howl to see her, she would of gotten a visit of flowery words and flamboyant compliments all dancing around an issue to never be addressed. That or she'd never see him. She had to laugh at how perfect the two were for each other, but… she did have something important to say.

"I'm glad to hear it. I was concerned for his well being for some time." Suliman chose to ignore Sophie's not so subtle snort before continuing.

"But, I am curious if you've been aware of certain current events that have been plaguing Ingary for some time now."

Sophie paused for a moment, rather surprised at the question. "You mean… about the missing people?"

"That's right. If it were one or two citizens, I wouldn't be too concerned. Possibly an unfortunately casualty of war, not noticed right away in records. Yet, missing citizens have been reported sporadically, from many different towns and cities, and the number keeps increasing even now."

The old sorceress paused a moment and fixed a hard stare upon Sophie, looking for any reaction that was to come from her next statement. "Tell me, Ms. Hatter, have you noticed any strange behavior with my old apprentice lately? Sudden disappearances for extended periods of time? I heard rumor that his demon wasn't destroyed when his heart was returned. Quite an unusual turn of events, what with a demon wandering around now missing and possibly craving for a piece it lost after so many years. Afterall, wars do strange things to people's minds and…demons it seems."

Sophie could only sit and stare at Madame Suliman. Strange behavior? Howl was a wizard, most things he did were strange to her, but that was his way. If she were honest, Howl always used to pop in and out, he still did from time to time, but nowhere near as badly as when she first arrived at the castle. Yet, Sophie's brain did an abrupt stop the moment she realized Suliman indirectly made mention of Calcifer. everything suddenly clicked into place. Sophie's eye twitched again before her face freely contorted into the full scowl she'd been holding in the entire visit.

"How dare you!" The items neatly placed on Suliman's desk jumped into the air as Sophie stood and slammed her open palms upon the hard wood surface. To Suliman's credit, she didn't even flinch.

"How dare you?! It's bad enough you and your…your _monsters_ spent months chasing my family and putting them through absolute HELL, but even after Howl gets his heart back you dare accuse him of…of…the unthinkable!

"I told you before and I'll just have to tell you again- HOWL IS NO MONSTER! Even without his heart, he was still gentle, kind, and good! Even if he had turned into a full demon, he would have never hurt anyone, because under all the feathers and claws he was still Howl. How do I know? Because I've seen it! And let me tell you, his demon is the same as him! Both are good, no matter what you say or think of them!

"You're lucky I don't need a walking stick anymore otherwise I'd hit you right over the head with it. Dragging me here to insult me by accusing Howl of crimes fit for a monster! Well, you've gotten your answer! Howl and his demon aren't at work! If they were, I'd have something to say about it, believe me! Now, I'm leaving and if I get so much as a hate letter from you about this, I'll be right back –WITH MY STICK!"

Sophie spun so fast on her heel that if she still had her braid, it would have whipped fast enough to cut like a blade. She angrily stomped towards the door, not bothering to look back to the sorceress still at her desk. If she had, she wouldn't have been shocked to see Suliman still as calm as ever, with a small smile upon her lips over the whole scene.

Sophie grabbed the handle and pulled the door open with such a force that the page outside was almost pulled in from the gust. He looked up to Sophie, fear and shock breaking his usual emotionless mask when he caught one look at her face.

"I'm done here! Take me back to the main gate!"

"Ye-yes, M-Ma'am… Right away."

8~8~8~8

The walk through the Palace was quite the affair. At least for everyone but Sophie, who was still too angry to notice the stares she received as she stomped her way about, grumbling angrily to herself. The young page tried to keep as much distance as he could in front of Sophie without losing her, every so often cautiously looking over his shoulder to make sure she was still following. The last thing he needed was to lose his charge in the Palace and have her go on a rampage. Any servant or official that happened to cross paths with the pair immediately dashed into an available room to avoid getting trampled.

Once the main entrance and the front steps were in sight, Sophie eagerly pushed forward to make her way down them. The page was more than happy to leave her and rush back inside for any other duty he could find. And so, Sophie angrily stormed her way down the steps, somehow managing to not trip herself. On she went through the Royal District, not paying mind to any of the well-to-dos she pushed past. A few attempted to say something to her about rudeness, but one look at her scowl had them quickly hurrying along to some appointment they conveniently were late for.

By the time she passed through the large gate separating the Palace from the rest of the city, Sophie managed to calm herself. Her stomping tirade slowly died to shlumpy walk as she made her way back to the castle. With a deep sigh, she took a moment to compose herself as she rested against the wall of a residential street. Now that the self-empowering wind had died, the rational thoughts that had been at bay went flooding right to Sophie's brain. Burying her face into her palms, she shook her head to try and make sense of her rash foolishness.

What was she thinking? She most likely insulted Madam Suliman, the head sorceress at the Palace in the royal city! Scratch that, she knew she did! As much as she despised the cunning woman, she was still the top advisor to the king and easily one of the strongest magic users in Ingary. As much as she trusted Howl's power and ability, she wasn't sure who would win if the two ever had to challenge the other. While Howl was gifted, Suliman was experienced, and would surely play dirty.

The young woman groaned when she remembered that she also physically threatened Suliman, promising to beat her with a cane if need be. Surely most of the Palace heard her angry shouts in the study. Instead of protecting her small little family, her rash words would probably have them tossed in jail! If Madam Suliman didn't send an army of blob men after her, surely an army of soldiers would be on their way to arrest her-

"Halt! By the Order of the Kingsbury Guard!"

8~8~8~8

Howl looked over the grey statue with a tilted head and a keen eye. Lifting a graceful hand to his chin, he shifted his legs, the work apron upon his front shifting with the jut of his hip. What would be the best way to approach this?

"Sophie's gonna be mad if you don't get him clean."

Howl frowned and turned his attention to the fire demon who casually floated by the open doorway leading to the castle. Markl was beside him, sitting upon the steps leading into the magic door with a plate of sandwiches next to him. The young apprentice probably would have said something as well, but he was currently busy with one of the sandwiches that Sophie had left for their lunch.

"I _am_ getting him clean…or at least I will. I just need to figure which spell would be best." The master wizard turned back to his subject with scrutiny as he pondered more. "There are a lot of cleaning spells, after all. If I were to use one too weak it would do nothing, but if I were to use one with too much vigor, it'd pulverize the poor statue to gravel! And knowing Sophie, she would not be pleased at that! Such problems!"

With a dramatic sigh, the wizard turned again and went over to Markl with three graceful strides. Bending, he picked a sandwich from the plate and casually took a bite when he righted himself and turned back to the statue. Markl, still working on his own sandwich, picked up another and held it up so Calcifer could eagerly snatch it from him.

"Why don't you just use soap and water," the young boy asked.

Howl snorted, waving his food casually as he spoke. "Because I am a wizard. What would be the point if I don't use magic?"

"Because Sophie would call it cheating, plus whenever you use a cleaning spell it's never as clean as when Sophie does it. Face it, Howl, magic probably won't help you here," remarked the fire demon as he finished gobbling the last bit of his snack.

Howl took an angry bite before making his way back to the statue. With renewed determination, he looked over the statue one final time before waving one of his hands over with in a circular motion while he concentrated. Within seconds, the filthy stone cat was covered completely in fizzing foamy suds. While the bubbles alternated between growing and shrinking, cleaning the surface, the wizard smugly turned back to his companions.

"See, Markl? That's how a wizard cleans."

"Uh….Master Howl…"

"Look again," cackled the fire demon.

Turning back, Howl let out a frustrated noise to see that even though his foam was melting away to the stone floor, the statue was no less clean. If anything, it was now worse, the bubbles making the dust and dirt into a muddy crust all over the stone and with grey sud-slush all over the courtyard.

"….Bother."

8~8~8~8

'_This is it! The end!_' Sophie thought as she scrunched her eyes and shot her hands up in the air as she pressed into the wall, hoping they wouldn't fire on her without looking.

"Stop, foreigner! Don't think I won't fire and take you into custody!"

'_Foreigner?'_ Sophie slowly opened one eye to glance down the street where the commotion was coming from.

Three Kingsbury soldiers rushed about, dancing back and forth in place, their rifles all cocked and aimed at a young boy who was slowly backing to a wall. The soldiers seemed agitated; Sophie could tell they would take any reason to open fire. The people about the streets panicked, backing away from the commotion while some women screamed at the mere sight of the guns.

"I said stop! We don't want any foreigners in Ingary now and you're as suspicious as any foreigner that I ever saw," yelled one of the soldiers. Based on the trimming of his uniform, he had some type of rank, possibly captain, from what Sophie could tell.

As for the 'foreigner', Sophie gasped when she noticed how young the boy looked. He was younger than the soldiers, looking almost about Sophie's age. The boy was thinly built, with an average stature, maybe a few inches taller than herself. His face was clean-shaven and so youthful. Sophie could just make out the dark hair peeking out from under his cap. Looking at his attire, she saw he was wearing a soldier's uniform, but it was strange. While it looked very similar to the Ingarian uniform, its trimmings and buttons were different. The material a dark red or burgundy color, compared to the Ingarian blue and green uniforms.

The boy raised his hands slowly, moving them in a surrendering gesture mixed with a motion to try and calm the soldiers down. Sweat ran down his face as he looked among the soldiers nervously. Sophie was surprised to see he had no weapon on his person if he was indeed a soldier. She looked to her own country's soldiers and glared as they continued to brazenly wave their firearms and threatening the boy.

Foreign or not, that was no reason to shoot at someone just because they seemed different! Sophie clenched her fists in anger, but Suliman's earlier words popped into her mind.

_Wars do strange things to people's minds_.

Sophie paused and looked over the scene again. Even though the war had officially ended almost a year prior, Ingary was far from recovered. Only now were the cities in proper stages of rebuilding after having to deal with the crippling losses of the many towns across the country. All that pain, suffering, and loss over a foolish misunderstanding with a lost prince.

Sophie supposed she could see why many people would be leery of others from outside the country. Still, it was no excuse to go shooting unarmed persons. Another war would probably start, and Sophie was not having that.

With new vigor, Sophie looked about for anything she could use. Spotting a potted plant on a nearby window, the young Hatter snatched it up and tossed it with all her might at the group of soldiers. Luckily, her aim was spot on and the pot hit the Captain square on the head. Dazed and eyes now showered in dirt, he dropped his rifle and backed up, trying to clear his vision.

"Who threw that?!"

The soldier's companions rushed over to try and help their compatriot, forgetting about the boy for the moment as they put their focus onto finding the culprit of the deed. "Show yourself!"

Sophie cursed herself for her rashness. She was really pressing her luck, but the soldiers always seemed to look elsewhere but on her. Taking her chance, she turned and ran down a nearby street when the soldiers were looking in the opposite direction.

While Sophie thought she had escaped without being seen, one soldier did see her. A soldier in a red uniform as he climbed a fire railing to make his own escape to the rooftops.

Sophie ran and ran as fast as her legs would take her. She tried her best to avoid anyone that came across her path, almost causing herself to trip a number of times but she was able to make it to entrance of the Pendragon Shop. Clutching the handle, she sagged against it as her breaths came out in heavy pants.

If she were lucky, hopefully no one that saw that scene with the soldiers would recognize her, or follow her. She didn't hear anyone calling or chasing after her down the cobblestone streets, so clearly that was a good sign. Pushing down on the handle, Sophie quickly rushed inside, shutting the door quickly behind her.

The moment she was able, she immediately turned the dial to a different color, any color but Kingsbury. With her forehead pressed again the wood of the heavy door, her heart continued to race as the events of the day flooded past her vision.

_What had she done?_

_What was she going to do?_

_Would anyone come to the castle with questions?_

_Did anyone even see? Was that boy really a bad person and were the soldiers right?_

Sophie's hand trembled as she still clutched the handle of the door, unable to make herself let go. She really didn't understand why she was so frightened, but she was. No matter how much her rational side tried to calm herself, the questions and memories continued to plague her. Sophie was so engrossed in her own mind that she nearly jumped out of her skirts when an impish voice addressed her.

"Sophie?"

Quickly turning, Sophie pressed her back against the door, keeping her arms behind her to hide the trembling as she plastered on a nervous smile.

Calcifer was resting in his hearth, leaning out to look at her. The fire demon frowned slightly when he noticed how distracted the young woman was. Sophie was known to daydream and occasionally lose herself in her own mental ramblings, but this was different. She was jittery, her arms hidden behind her, and he was positive there was perspiration all across her forehead. Sophie rarely acted this way, and he realized something must have happened at the Palace.

"Is everything alright, Sophie? How did things go in Kingsbury?"

The demon noticed the dial was now turned to Porthaven but chose to make no comment on that fact. He calmly waited as he watched the young woman at the door. After a few quiet moments, she seemed to relax. Sophie seemed to get a hold of herself as she stepped away from the door, and brought her arms back to her side.

While still feeling the butterflies waging their own warfare in her middle, she managed a smile for Calcifer, making her way calmly up the steps to the main landing.

Calcifer gave her a small smile from his resting place in the hearth. Before Sophie could answer, a snuffling noise distracted her attention. The Witch was resting on the loveseat, sound asleep with Heen resting on the cushion beside her. The old dog was following her example of an afternoon nap. Sophie smiled at the two, the momentary distraction easing her slightly before she turned back to Calcifer.

"Uneventful. It honestly was a waste of time. Suliman just seemed curious, best to just forget about it."

Calcifer frowned again. That…didn't sound right. Sophie's voice was too quiet and her eyes shifted as she spoke. The demon may not have understood humans completely, but spending years with a vague wizard who barely understood his own emotions made the little fire very observant of body language and gestures. Something happened, he would bet his logs on it! But, what bothered him more was how unsettled Sophie seemed.

Sophie was the brave one, the one who never let a challenge discourage her. The girl who defiantly challenged demons, old age, blob monsters, and old witches with a determined look on her face and a broom in her hand. To see her like this… it was unsettling to Calcifer. To him, she seemed ready to run at the first loud sound and quick movement. The fire demon decided to be cautious for now. He didn't want Sophie scared or upset, so he'd hold his curiosity until she relaxed more or approached him first. The last thing he needed was her dashing away and leaving him with Howl and his tantrums of slime and shadows.

As the fire demon opened his mouth to respond, the familiar click of the color dial caught his attention. The wheel spun itself to green before the door opened, revealing Howl. The wizard turned back outside, yelling some final instructions to his young apprentice.

"Make sure to get him completely dry, Markl. I don't want any moss and mildew growing on him after all the work I did to clean him."

There was a good humored sound, almost like a snort before the young boy answered his master with a, "Yes, Master Howl."

Said wizard, turned back and made his way into his castle, wiping his surprisingly messy hands into the soiled apron upon his front. When he reached the main landing, Howl looked up in surprise to see Sophie there. His surprise only lasted a moment before his face lit up in his usual childish excitement.

"Oh! Sophie, you're home all ready!"

Sophie froze when she saw Howl step fully into the room. She was actually a bit shocked at his appearance. Though he tried wiping his hands, she could still see traces of dirt on them that matched the various streaks upon the apron that humorously covered almost all of his front. His sleeves were rolled very deliberately to almost his shoulders, clearly to prevent any chance of staining if it was permitted. Always conscious of his looks, the wizard clearly went to amusing methods to try and keep himself as clean as he was able, though when Sophie noticed a smear of grime along his nose, clearly from a forgotten itch, she almost laughed.

Looking up to him and hearing his gentle tone, Sophie felt all her jitters and nerves instantly calming. She was home, and she knew she was safe within this castle with her wizard. And for the moment, she could not be convinced otherwise.

Without responding, Sophie quickly made her way to Howl before wrapping her arms around his back while burying her face in his chest. Luckily the top section of his apron was still clean. Howl was a bit shocked at her sudden action and it took him a moment to react. Checking his hands to make sure they weren't too filthy, he wrapped them about the small woman's shoulders. He worriedly looked to Calcifer. This wasn't a 'welcome back' type of hug…

The fire demon said nothing, but gave Howl a particular look before gently shaking his fiery head. They would speak later but for now…

Howl gently ran the fingers of one hand through Sophie's soft silver hair, moving some strands behind her ear. Pulling her from him, he smiled brightly at her before gesturing towards the doorway of the castle. Taking her hand, he gently pulled her down the steps and out towards the Market Chipping courtyard.

'I'm glad you're back, Sophie. I just finished cleaning your cat statue. Markl's in the courtyard drying him off. Wait until you see him, he's absolutely grand! Better looking than I could have imagined. In fact, I think we should put him out front by one of the shops. I bet he'll attract lots of attention!"

8~8~8~8

So there's the first update in….forever it seems. Again I apologize in advanced for seemingly abandoning this, and if future chaptesr may contradict the first three. It shouldn't be too bad though since I didn't get that far along. I honestly forgot some plot points I intended 6 years ago so I had to rework a looooooot of things, but most of the story is planned out so it's not so much guessing lol.

Reviews and messages are appreciated! Hope you guys enjoy it!


	5. Creatures In The dark

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing, just for some fun.

IMPORTANT: Just a quick note about the layout of the castle, while I imagine it to be very similar to the Market Chipping setup, maybe with bigger rooms and actual bedrooms for everyone upstairs [minus the witch cause she's old and should be downstairs lol] the portal colors are **red, blue, yellow**, and **green**. Red for kingsbury, blue for Porthaven, Yellow for the secret garden, and Green is now Market chipping. Black is intentionally gone because…well howl doesn't need it anymore, plus if he desired he can make any portal temporarily black for his own use. How? Because he's a wizard *sparkles*

As for the Wastes, it has it's own separate door aside from the yard/patio thing, towards the back, almost like a basement entrance so that anyone can leave the castle at any time regardless of the front door [provided the castle isn't flying lol] I notice that most writers tend to never explain their door setup, usually going back to kingsbury and porthaven without explaining the colors.

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Creatures in the Dark

~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8

It was dark within the moving castle. The clock on the far wall gave one resounding chime of its bells before it too quieted. All the occupants of the mobile dwelling were confined to their rooms, happily sleeping. Well…almost.

Howl slowly pulled his bedroom door open, making sure to not aggravate the squeaky hinges. Once he gave himself a wide enough space, he peered out into the small hallway of the upper landing. Markl and Sophie's doors were shut and there was no hint of light from under the doorframes. Stilling the breath in his lungs for a moment, the wizard listened about. There were no sounds on the lower landing either.

Taking the opportunity, Howl slipped the rest of the way from his bedroom, not bothering to shut the door. Carefully feeling along the walls to guide him, he made his way to the steps and slowly descended. The wizard took each step cautiously, not clamoring down in his usual manner to avoid any of the planks to groan. Once he was safely in the main sitting room, he slowly made his way to the hearth where Calcifer glowed the dimmest of orange under his logs. Taking a seat in the chair affront the hearth, Howl adjusted his nightshirt before whispering to get the demon's attention.

"Calcifer. Calcifer, are you awake?"

The room immediately brightened as Calcifer lifted himself up from his hiding spot under the wood. The wizards squinted while his eyes adjusted. The little fire demon said nothing at first, merely peering up at the wizard before him. Calcifer's eyes were bright and focused, meaning he hadn't been asleep. Clearly he had been waiting for Howl.

"So, Sophie breaks our contract but Suliman still decides to hunt us down," the little demon stated casually.

Howl chuckled as he shifted in the chair. "No I don't think that's quite it. If she was really interested if finding the castle, I'd need triple the redirecting charms I have now. It's something else entirely. I think something else happened that caused Sophie to act so strange this afternoon."

Calcifer hummed in response as he took in the appearance of the young wizard. Despite the slightly mused hair and being in his night attire, Howl didn't appear any different than he normally was. But, Calcifer had spent many years in his current position, overlooking his 'partner'. True, Howl was in much better standings than when he was on his own, all thanks to a certain young lady, but the demon picked up on something right away.

"So, you've been pretty taxed lately. Now if only it were for customers; we'd be rich."

Howl chuckled at his companion's comment. Observant as ever, he noted. The wizard couldn't deny his fatigue. While his magic ability was still as limitless as before, one thing he noticed since breaking his contract with the demon was the drain his magic had on his body. With his heart gone and Calcifer's magic in its place, Howl rarely grew tired from his abilities. It was like an endless pool of substance to draw upon. He could perform any spell, any difficulty, any number of times and barely feel the hint of tiredness. But with the tie severed, Howl had to rely on his own energies. While he occasionally asked Calcifer for some assistance of a particularly challenging spell, he couldn't very well have him hovering over his shoulder to help him with every feat of magic. Well… he could, but he highly doubted Calcifer would be keen on that particular idea. The demon would run off within the hour, or worse, tattle to Sophie. Still, while the lack of energy at times was a bother, he was still much happier with himself whole and able to love Sophie and the rest of his quirky family in a proper sense.

Howl smiled at the small fire, "Noticed did you? I suppose I should have realized it was obvious when Sophie stopped giving me too hard of a time with my sleeping habits recently. Still, a needed sacrifice I humbly take on."

Calcifer snorted and shifted on his log. "'Humbly'? You never do anything humbly. Now 'bumbly', that's a differe-"

"Calcifer."

The stern look from the wizard had the demon shifting his thoughts back in order. Without the contract, Howl could very well dump water on him without the fear of death swooping upon him as well. Calcifer wasn't sure how well he'd hold up to that now. Though he still used logs, it was mostly from habit and enjoyment. He found he could very well fly about without any need for kindling or anything to keep him burning. He wasn't exactly sure if water would end him now, but best to not chance it.

"Joke-just a joke! Anyway, so what has been taking all your time recently if not work for the shops?"

"Wards, mostly. Anything particularly strong at keeping…'unmentionables' out. Most I've been able to come across in my books can barely work for anything larger than a dog. Granted, most are only intended to keep pests and the like away. It's taken a bit of work and tweaking on my part to get them stronger," Howl stated with a tired sigh as if remembering all his effort.

Calcifer made a sound of understanding. "So that's why the castle walls have shifted or felt different. I questioned it but I thought I was simply imagining things. Glad to know my mind isn't going after all these years."

"Calcifer, you've only been around since I was twelve. That's barely any time to start losing your marbles," the wizard stated with a chuckle.

"Shows what you know, kiddo! Though I barely remember much, I was a star for a long time before meeting you, so there! Anyway, why all the interest in wards? You never had problems hiding before."

It was Howl's turn to snort this time as he replied, "It's not for hiding. I explained some time ago that I'm done running away, if you remember, but that doesn't mean I want to happily invite danger into my doorstep. Misdirection can only work for so long. Better to have a thicker door than a thin sheet merely thrown over it."

Calcifer watched quietly as the wizard before him slumped in his chair slightly as he turned his gaze behind him to the staircase and the upper landing. He waited, feeling Howl was about to continue.

"The truth is, Calcifer…I actually am a bit frightened. Not from Madam Suliman or other wizards…but…"

Howl paused for a moment, turning back to the demon in the hearth. Calcifer held his tongue on poking fun at Howl's cowardice. No, that was wrong. The wizard wasn't frightened for his own hide, the demon could tell. When Howl was scared that he would be caught or fall upon some bodily harm, he tried to play it off with his flamboyance and a charming smile as he retreated somewhere to cower in private. While everyone who spent enough time with the wizard to truly learn of his personality could quickly tell what a coward he was, Howl rarely liked admitting it to others. Even cowards had pride. When he thought about it, Calcifer never actually got a blatant confession of fear from Howl. It was always Calcifer to point it out to the wizard to corner him into speaking. Calcifer's thoughts were shifted again as Howl cleared his throat quietly as he thought over his words.

"I'm scared that Sophie will end up as one of those names in the papers. That she'll go out one day and she'll not come back. I wasn't worried when the first person turned up missing. It happens at times, but when three and four names were in the paper and no one could give any details on it, my brain suddenly brought up a scenario of Sophie then becoming one of those names. What really scares me is that…I don't know what to protect her from. No one knows why those people disappear or what does it. I can't very well keep her locked in the castle. I enjoy my freedom more than anyone, and what would I be if I subjected to locking Sophie in a gilded cage? I-I'm disreputable-but I'm notahypocrite andSophie would besoveryveryunhappyand-"

Calcifer again chose to be nice and held himself from commenting how Howl inadvertently caged him to the hearth with their contract. As he listened patiently to the wizard, the demon noticed how he shifted and absentmindedly clutched at his chest, pulling the cloth of his nightshirt. Howl's voice progressively started speeding up as his nerves got the better of him, jumbling his usually eloquent speech.

When Howl had his heart returned, Calcifer and Sophie soon realized Howl gained something else with it.

Panic attacks.

While Howl was indeed human and felt stress like anyone else [sometimes not enough, Sophie would joke], it rarely got to him because only his mind seemed affected. Being the clever wizard he was, Howl could work his thoughts and distract himself from his stress to work through it easily. But, with his heart suddenly beating in his chest, the wizard was thrown for a loop. For more than a decade, Howl grew accustomed to his body being in a constant state of calm stillness. Without his heart, there was nothing physical in him to trigger his body into panics or other states[*]. Even on the rare occasions where he worked himself enough, his body would show the minimum amount of fatigue, rarely breaking into sweats and heavy breathing. Now with the organ beating once again in his chest, Howl soon found his body reacting accordingly. With physically taxing actions, his heart sped up and he'd be covered in sweat, with any realization of fear and panic his heart would thrump wildly against his ribs. Being without his heart for so long had caused Howl to forget what was normal and what was not. Feeling his heart performing anything but the usual rhythmic beats at first had him thinking perhaps his heart was damaged from being inside a demon for so long. With such a thought, Howl assumed he might end up dying, which in turn would get his heart racing more and created a vicious cycle. There was more than one night where the wizard awoke in a screaming fit, trying to tell his heart to slow itself. Sophie was always there a moment later, clutching and holding him down till he calmed himself, calmly explaining he was fine and that everyone went through what he was feeling to a degree. Howl was too strong to die from a mere panic attack, she would assure him. The particularly bad instances only lasted for a short while, and Howl did learn the normalcy, but every so often his heart and body would overreact. Calcifer was not about to deal with one of those times at the moment.

"Hey, hey! Calm down already. You'll get yourself all worked up and you'll wake up everyone. I don't appreciate staying up this late to speak privately only to have you bring everyone down here," the demon hissed out to Howl.

Realizing he was correct, Howl took a few deep breaths and released his shirt to get himself back in order.

"Sorry," he apologized. "It's just that I don't like how unsafe Ingary seems to be becoming, even months after that pointless war. This is strange."

"I know what you mean. I keep noticing things really… 'off'," the demon confided.

"Off?"

"Yeah… it doesn't happen constantly, but…every so often I'll sense something. I don't know what it is or even exactly where it is. I've never had a problem sensing humans, witches, wizards, or other magic things before. I even knew that silly scarecrow was a cursed human when he first brought Sophie to the castle, and I know it's not because our contract is broken. It's the strangest thing. It's almost like…what do you humans call it – an itch?- in the back of my mind, and before I can even try to concentrate on it, it's gone! Whatever it is, it makes me nervous, like something different is creeping out there."

8~8~8~8~

It was a beautiful night. The sky was clear, the stars and moon practically sparkled, and the wind was minimal. A night like this made him feel truly alive!

He had to laugh at the city he was currently in. Kingsbury was so busy and noisy during the day, making it seem like the place didn't know how to stop even for a moment. People constantly bustling around, talking to others as they went to and fro, and the streets constantly crowded with those annoying automobiles that were entirely too loud and left awful smells in their wake. Everything was dolled up in this place: the clothes, the people, even the buildings! It was annoying to see them all flutter about making such a fuss over things they'd grow bored of within a month. He didn't even want to dwell on that busybody palace and all the clamoring there. It gave him an outright headache.

But right now, Kingsbury could have very well been a completely different place. Not a soul on the street, or even a sound to be heard apart from the occasional night creature singing to the moon. Crickets and dogs were such magnificent musicians. He sighed as he took in another deep breath of air while shifting his hands into his pants pockets. He had to be going soon. He already wasted enough time in this place. He would of left sooner, but the night sky was too tempting, calling for him to relax and enjoy it instead of bustling off to his abode. It was fine; it wasn't like he had a real schedule, or even a plan with what to do recently. More like he didn't like being away for too long.

Turning down a corner, he paused. Though it was pitch black, he could see perfectly well in front of him. Hmm, he made a wrong turn again and walked right into a dead alley. He frowned at his own blunder. He really did dislike Kingsbury; the streets were so complicated to fit all the fancy buildings. It would have been so much better if everything were on one main road like much smaller towns. Sighing, he made to turn and try another street when a click gave him pause.

The cocking of a rifle.

He smirked, hands still casually in his pockets as he sauntered to about-face. Standing in the opening of the alley was a male figure. Even in the dark and silhouetted, he could make out that the man was wearing a soldier's uniform and cap. Dark red? Hmm, he hadn't seen that color around; even the highest-ranking Kingsbury soldiers only had a lighter bright red. Not that it mattered; armies changed their uniforms like hats, so to speak.

The soldier was tall with an average muscular build, but not overly so. He filled out his uniform in a proper way, he wasn't bony like the Ingary naval soldiers nor was he ready to burst at the seams with one wrong flex of a muscle like some of a foot soldiers he'd seen about. No, this soldier was different, he looked like he spent his whole life perfecting himself, or perhaps he was just better trained. Half the soldiers he'd seen in the army were young boys foolishly joining in hopes of glory and impressing lady folk.

The soldier shifted his aim on the gun, perfectly trained on his target. Yes, this man knew his weapon like a true warrior. Steadfast arm, solid eyes focused on their target, muscles poised but ready to strike out at the needed moment - he had to admire that. Wasn't everyday you came across such a capable fighter, still, there was a gun aimed at him, after all.

"Well, what do we have here? Out for midnight stroll?" He chuckled lightly at his own joke, hoping the soldier would take the bait. The soldier unfortunately did not and that sobered him. The soldier was serious and focused still. There was also something unusual about the way the moon reflected on his smoky grey eyes; such an uncommon color at that, too.

"So what's your story? After all, I don't usually appreciate rifles aimed on my person. A bit unsettling and rude. Still, there's something about you. I have a tickling in the back of my neck about you for some reason."

Again, the soldier remained silent, only wrinkling his nose; perhaps in disgust or inhaling a deep breath. He opened his mouth to address the silent soldier again, but a loud explosion cut him off. Shifting his gaze beside his head, he noticed the rather large hole in the wall of the alley. It was rather large for a standard rifle, or at least what looked like a standard rifle. And a deliberate miss at that, this man was a treat! It was a shame Kingsbury would be a terrible place to get into a scuffle. Too close quartered and crowded, so...

He smirked across the alley at the soldier, showing just the hint of his teeth. Taking it as a challenge, the soldier re-aimed his firearm and fired. The shot echoed off the alley again and merely embedded into a far wall as the target jumped to the wall with unparalleled speed. The soldier frowned and rushed into the alley, training his gun upward as his target kicked himself from wall to wall as he made his way directly up to the rooftops. The soldier managed to fire 3 more rounds, but they always just missed and smashed into the walls. Lowering his gun, he frowned as he looked up towards the roof.

With one last jump, he gracefully landed upon the decorated roof. Dusting off his pants, he casually put his hands in his pockets and started walking off. He knew tonight was going to be interesting, his instincts were rarely off, though he did wish he could have had a bit more fun teasing the soldier. Still, the last thing he wanted was to wake up the entire city. Even now he could hear shouts from blocks off. Most likely law enforcements to investigate the 'incident'… and he heard another sound. Pausing to listen more carefully…was that growling and… smashing rocks?

Stranger still, were those sounds coming from … behind him? Hearing a loud howl, he looked over his shoulder to see a large black mass shoot up from the alley he himself escaped from and land in a crouch on the roof. It was a massive creature with a thick coat of solid black fur. It shifted before righting itself onto powerful hind legs, staring at him. Turning fully around, he was able to get a full look at the creature before him. He smirked before breaking into a slightly maniacal laugh when he noticed the Smokey eyes reflecting the moon's light and a rifle strapped upon its furred back.

"That would explain it. I knew there was something off about you, though I never would have guessed 'werewolf'. And one who can transform at will; I didn't think guys like you existed anymore!" The werewolf only snarled in response, his lips pulling back to reveal the white razor teeth in his jaw.

"Well, looks like my plans are altered again. Couldn't ask for anything better though, so let's have some fun!"

He barely finished his taunt before the werewolf charged at him, swinging a massive clawed paw. He easily jumped away and the two began a long chase from roof to roof.

The combatants exchanged blows of kicks, punches, slashes, and bites [at least from the furry assailant]. They matched blow for blow, neither making progress over the other despite their difference is size. After all, size meant nothing compared to speed and technique.

"My, you're fast! I haven't faced anyone worth my time in so long!"

He mostly dodged and deflected his opponent's attacks, because it was amusing to see the werewolf smash the chimneys and water towers to smithereens. It truly was a glorious fight, and they were just getting warmed up! He had to give it to the werewolf; he had such control, holding back his power until the moment to strike to unleash it all in a mighty attack. He was impressed, given the rumor that werewolves were supposed to be impulsive due to their animal instinct taking over in transformation. For every swing of a paw - he back flipped, for every lunge with his fangs - an uppercut to deflect. Such a thrill! But all good things had to come to an end.

He barely caught himself as he skidded to a stop on the last rooftop. He and the wolf had jumped clear across avenues, making it to the last rooftop before a large public park. When he jerked back around to try and head back, his werewolf opponent leapt to the air and tackled him. The two went sailing over the edge of the roof, arcing over towards the park. They collided into the stone figure upon the large fountain in the center of a seating area. The two bodies collided at full speed into the stone figure, demolishing it as they sailed past. The stone crumbled to pieces, the water pipe bursting and sending a geyser of liquid into the air. The two brawlers landed on the concrete hard, skidding apart. Despite all the damage to the park, he and the werewolf got to their feet with barely any hint of wear or tear. He stood to his feet, brushing the dust from his black vest and pants before looking across to see his opponent doing similar with a fur shake. They held the other's gaze for a mere moment before rushing at each other.

The fight was halted as a gunshot rang through the night. Pausing, he and the werewolf looked in the direction of the shot, noticing a small collection of soldiers, guns all at the ready, charging at them. More shots were fired, a few hitting the concrete beside them.

"Always at the worst times. I really hate Kingsbury." The two warriors shared a glance of reluctant acceptance. They needed to retreat, both couldn't afford to be seen for their own reasons.

As the soldiers drew closer, the lanterns they carried just letting them see a glimpse of the two fighters, the two took off. Each bolting in an opposite direction into the dark, disappearing from the sight of the soldiers who could only take in the damage and question who or what the two figures were.

8~8~8~8

Sophie stood before Calcifer that morning as she always did to cook breakfast before it was time to open the shops. While she slid a slice of bacon across the greased pan over the demon's head, she had to ponder on the events that were making her suspect that today would prove to be rather unusual.

For most of Sophie's life, everything fell into a set routine. In her experience, when something occurred to break that routine, it was usually a forewarning of something about to happen – usually to her. Perfect example, when she was nine years old, she had a favorite teacup that she used every morning for her breakfast. On one such morning, when she lifted said cup for a sip of tea, it suddenly shattered down the center, spilling her tea all over her dress and remaining breakfast. As a result, she had to change her clothing, forcing her to rush to lessons to avoid being late. She still was of course, and rather famished for most of the morning having missed her breakfast. Her tardiness caused her to be forced to remain after lessons as punishment, and with a group of girls who were not fond of her as well. Now, some would say that was more bad luck, but Sophie saw it as a broken routine. After all, her usual pattern was broken, and thus ended awkwardly for her. A more recent example was when she took back streets instead of her usual route to see her sister at Cesari's bakery and ending up running into two soldiers. And everyone knew what followed that…

When she came down that morning and greeted Calcifer, he spent a good ten minutes complaining to her. Now, Calcifer complained a great deal when he wanted so this wasn't unusual, and Sophie was usually nice enough to just humor him. He did do a great deal of work in the castle, and it was even more generous of him since he wasn't bound to it physically. The least Sophie could do was be an ear for him to huff to on occasion, mostly since Howl would usually shift the focus to himself if the demon complained to him. But this morning's complaint was rather unusual. Calcifer stated there was a lot of hustling and bustling in Kingsbury that morning, much more than usual and for some time since dawn. That fact was rather strange to start since Kingsbury and its citizens were more prone to be active in the afternoon and evening while the mornings were calm. When Sophie asked him of the problem there, he stated he wasn't sure. No one was really focusing on the shop, but more that all the activity was buzzing about rather loudly and in all directions, so the constant chaos was wracking the demon's concentration. Now curious of the situation, Sophie had asked Markl when he came downstairs to go out and purchase a Kingsbury newspaper. Or at least ask their neighboring shops what the commotion was since they only received the Market Chipping paper by delivery.

Aside from Calcifer's complaints that morning, Howl had also awoken early and was currently sitting behind her at the table with the Witch. While Howl did get up early every so often, as of late he had been sleeping in due to late night research and usually required her to awaken him at a decent hour. So, to see him up on his own was unusual. She wasn't surprised to see him looking through one of his books, scribbling notes on small sheets of paper every so often as he sat at the table; the Witch happily watching him with a slightly dazed smile. What did catch her attention was the hint of grey under his eyes. It was very subtle and most would miss it upon glance, but Sophie noticed it after a moment: bags under his eyes that were peeking through his cosmetic magic from his morning bathroom rituals. While she was happy to see Howl working so hard for once, the entire situation made her feel slightly uneasy.

Before she could dwell any farther on the issue, the front door burst open as an excited Markl and Heen bustled through.

"Sophie! Sophie! Master Howl! You won't believe what's in the paper this morning!"

The boy hurriedly clamored up the steps leading to the main floor of the castle, almost tripping in his excitement. He rushed to Sophie first waving the paper in his hand, as she put her cooking off of Calcifer to avoid burning it. Heen rushed in circles about Markl, or at least as circular as the old dog could run.

"Everyone in Kingsbury is talking about it! There was this huge fight! And-and it wrecked a park and some buildings and they think monsters did it and -!"

Sophie cut him off to try and calm him down a bit, clearly excited from the news. As mature as Markl could be at times, he still was an eight-year-old boy and sometimes his excitement got the better of him. "Whoa, whoa! Slow down, Markl. Let's see what the paper says then."

The boy eagerly handed the newspaper up to her with an energetic smile. When Sophie went about smoothing it and folding it properly to its front page, he rushed over to his master still seated at the table, who was still busy absorbed in his notes and apparently did not hear the news. That would not do for Markl.

After fixing the wrinkles and over-folds from the boy's handling, Sophie couldn't help her eyes widening when she looked over the front page. Quickly reading the main article, a cough disrupted her thoughts. Turning to the fireplace, she saw Calcifer leaning out into his ashes to try and get a better view of her. Even Howl had stopped his research and was looking to her curiously as well as the Witch.

"So, what's it say? Some of us are a bit curious now after all that commotion," the little demon said.

"Oh," the young Hatter cleared her throat before stepping closer to everyone as she began reading the lead story aloud for everyone in the room.

" 'Mayhem in Main Street Square. Officials and local citizens report of some type of fight occurring on Kingsbury's main avenue. The first disturbance was heard near Burkley Lane where residents claimed to have heard rifle shots in the late evening hours. Five were heard in total as well as several bullet holes discovered in a nearby alley. The rifle in question or shooter was not found, but Captain Henry Tompson of the Kingsbury Guard claimed the rifle in question was not Ingary made judging from the bullet hole size.

Curious still was the complaint of water and electricity loss for many residents in nearby blocks as well as many loud noise complaints that night. Upon discovery, the roofs of said buildings had sizable damage, with large dents and slash marks. The trail of damage lead down to Kingsbury Square Park, where the main fountain was completely demolished. Authorities would originally assume the fountain to be the work of local miscreants, but the damage too severe. Local soldiers on patrol that night bare witness to seeing a large creature near the wreckage of the fountain. Upon arriving at the scene, they just caught glimpse of the large black form and a smaller one before both vanished from sight. Some claim they believe the smaller figure was a local possibly trying to fight off said creature and was unfortunately dragged off. Such talk has sent locals into panic, feeling this 'monster' may be the cause of the recent disappearances in towns across Ingary.

Word has been sent to the Palace, and by order of the King, soldiers patrolling at evening hours will be doubled to investigate such disturbances. His Majesty asks that all citizens be aware when they leave their homes after dark and if any suspicious activity is seen it is to be reported to local officials right away.' "

Sophie paused when she finished the article to let the information be fully absorbed by her and everyone present in the room. She vaguely heard the Witch mumble something about the lines of 'Such excitement' while Sophie looked over the black and white photo of the destroyed fountain.

"What a shame. I actually liked that fountain," she said before looking at the other image present. It was meant to be an artistic rendition of the 'monster' the soldiers claimed to see, though to her it looked like a black blob with small beady eyes and long claws. The image was a bit silly, but it did make one think. Clearly those men saw something large and dangerous, if it caused so much damage in such short time. Quite worrisome, indeed.

"A monster? I bet it was a demon! Right, Master Howl?"

Howl didn't answer his apprentice as he calmly stood and went to Sophie, politely relieving her of the newspaper. Sophie could only nod and watch him curiously as he read over the article himself. She was rather curious about what he thought of the whole situation. So far, he's been very nonchalant about the disappearances. Of course they bothered him, but like Sophie, he seemed to realize they seemed to happen in places and times that asked for trouble. Still, she couldn't help but be curious what he'd say about this new development.

Calcifer at that moment decided he was silent long enough as he shot a glance at Markl from his spot in the hearth. "What makes you so sure it's a demon? I'm just a touch offended by that. After all, I'm a demon and I'm perfectly nice and respectable!"

"Such a pretty fire." That statement caused Calcifer to deflate a bit, but mostly out of having the fierce prideful image of himself crushed under the old Witch's comment.

"I suppose, but you're not like most demons, Calcifer, and that picture did look pretty demon like," Markl stated cheerily.

The demon merely snorted, "And I suppose you've met loads of demons before me. Why is it that whenever bad things happen, humans always blame demons? I mean sure there are a lot of….questionable ones out there, but there's 'good' ones I suppose, at least some like me."

Sophie looked curiously at the small fire demon. "Do you know other demons, Calcifer?"

Calcifer looked back to her rather surprised, blinking his large eyes before slowly speaking. "Well…no, not really, not any like me. Maybe when I was still a star, I suppose. But, I mean someone has to defend them, I guess. I am a demon after all, and I can't be the only one that likes humans, or at least tolerates them. But, don't ever tell another demon that if they ask you!"

Sophie chuckled when Calcifer huffed and turned the slightest shade of red. She'd never really thought on it before; of why Calcifer stayed. She always assumed it was because of simplicity and habit. He did spend more than ten years indoors powering a castle, but really, perhaps it was the simple reason that he would be lonely.

"Of course, Calcifer, I'll be sure to tell them you're the biggest, scariest fire demon I know."

Before Calcifer could comment, Howl turned and tossed the newspaper to the table. A frown graced his features as he strode with purpose across the room to the stairs. Sophie went to follow him, worriedly questioning him but he remained silent, as he seemed to ignore her. She paused at the base of the stairs and frowned when she heard him shut his door. Looking to Calcifer, her frown deepened. She didn't understand what he was feeling. After all, he never seemed this upset before, and if anything this story could just be a farce since the only concrete proof of the incident was cosmetic damage that could have been caused with enough effort. But, Howl was unpredictable at times, even for her.

Having assumed he locked himself in his bedroom for the day, Sophie was more than surprised to hear his door again. Looking up, she saw Howl making his way down the steps, with his cream jacket with the lavender triangles draped over his shoulders. With surprised eyes, she backed away from the steps towards the hearth to give him room. Howl adjusted the coat slightly as he made his way across the room with a calm, casual tone.

"Markl, make sure to work on the few spells we received yesterday. You've handled ones like that before, and don't forget to practice the lessons we've been going over recently."

"Yes, Master Howl!"

Turning to Sophie, who still looked surprised with her hands lightly gripped upon her chest, Howl smiled gently at her. "Don't save dinner for me. I might be out until very late tonight, possibly tomorrow morning."

That woke her from her shock. "Out? Out, where? Where are you going?" She asked worriedly.

Howl only smiled wider, "To see Madam Suliman. The paper said the Palace was informed and I'm curious about what she thinks of the situation. Call it 'wizard's curiosity' I suppose." When he saw her open her mouth to question him, he merely placed two delicate figures over her lips. "I just have some light errands to look into. I promise I'll be back by tomorrow, you have my word." To ensure her silence on the matter, the wizard let his fingers slid away but replaced them with a delicate kiss. It worked like a charm as Sophie's eyes slowly shut, even ignoring Markl's light giggling and the Witch mumbling about 'what a handsome couple.'

When Howl pulled away, he turned to Calcifer in the hearth. "I'm going to leave through the Kingsbury exist, and make sure to keep it locked for the time being even if there's knocking. I'm sure after that story in the paper a lot of people might come by asking for spells and charms. I'd rather not deal with that until I return."

Calcifer nodded and wished him luck as the wizard stepped down the steps to the door. He didn't have to worry about the door since Howl was the only other person aside from him who could unlock and shift the exits as needed.

With one last smile and goodbye over his shoulder, Howl opened the door and stepped out onto the busy Kingsbury street.

8~8~8~8

Looking about the town, he finally deemed it safe enough to slow down. After that incident in Kingsbury the night before, he'd run non-stop to get here. Taking note of the brightly colored buildings, mostly in shades of pinks, greens, and yellows, he realized he was in Market Chipping. That was good, only a little farther and he'd be in the wastes. He let out a tired sigh as he slowed to a shuffling walk. The hours-long trek to get here didn't tire him, no, that jog was nothing for him. Even at the speed he went it wasn't his fastest. It was just the whole situation getting to him.

He had to admit, the werewolf caught him off-guard. He liked surprises, but being caught with his back exposed, so to speak, was embarrassing. He knew better. But, in his defense, who would have guessed such a beast would pop up, especially in Kingsbury, the dullest of dull! Granted, at least it answered his question of why the soldier attacked him. Clearly only something…not human… would have noticed him and even then they usually had trouble doing so. He was very good at being discreet when he wanted, but werewolves were very perceptive he learned. Lousy dogs.

Taking in a deep breath, he smiled when he smelled the fresh mountain air. Sure, Market Chipping had a pretty foul stench from its automobiles and large factory smoke stakes normally. But the fact that it was beside the very windy Wastes pushed much of that foul air away, bringing in the lovely scents of dry weed grass, mountain flowers, and snow instead. All that bothersome air blew over to Kingsbury, how fitting! Looking up, he watched the yellow and pink flags as they fluttered from the roofs and flagpoles of the buildings. He liked Market Chipping. Sure, the business district of it annoyed him with the sounds and rush, but most of the town was very quiet and slow. He liked when the people rode their bikes about the street and when the farmers from outside the town rode their horse-drawn carts through the street. Oh, and there were lots of kids running around here. He liked to watch them run and play nonsensical games for no reason other than to have fun.

Just thinking about Market Chipping and the things he enjoyed brightened his spirits. Judging by the sun and the warmth of the day, it was some hour in the afternoon. Good, plenty of time to enjoy the day as he made his way. With a smile on his lips and a hop in his step, he hummed a light tune as he walked the streets, looking in the shop windows for fun. He liked the decorated windows and displays the shop owners set up. It was like how all shops used to be years ago. Passing down a sloping curved street, his gaze was instantly drawn to one building. The bright green and magenta paint had it standing out from the rest of the buildings in comparison. As he got closer, he couldn't help but admire the gold trimming upon the lovely wood doors and windows, liking the bright green vine and flower accents all about the archways. Someone put a lot of care into making this building lovely; he always appreciated that type of sentiment. Looking upward, he smiled at the swinging wood sign in the motif of a lady's sun hat. He saw the phrase 'Hatter's' under the hat.[*] It matched the gold lettering upon the windows and the small plaque to the left of the doors. Ah, a hat shop, but when he looked to the displays, he paused when he saw all flowers. Blinking he stepped closer to look inside. Someone might have been walking about inside, but he didn't really focus on that. He could clearly see the shelves of pots and decorative vases. In buckets and barrels of water were flowers of all sizes and colors. They were fresh, which was a bit surprising since most of those flowers couldn't be found locally. He could also tell their freshness by the wonderful scents coming from inside. Looking up to the overhead sign, he laughed out loud. Someone didn't get the memo on either the sign or the product.

Still lightly chuckling, he went to continue on his way, passing the grey stone steps leading to the door, with an equally grey statue sitting to the far edge near the double doors. A very unusual statue. He stopped mid-step, eyes wide as he was frozen for a moment. Snapping his head to the side, he stepped back to get a better look at what caught his attention. Going to the edge of the steps, he looked the cat statue up and down multiple times.

How could this be?

Taking a step up, he looked around the sides of the stone feline, noting all the details carved into it. Leaning in close to its muzzle, he tapped the nose with a scrutinizing gaze. With a finger, he gently moved the hinged jaw open and closed to test the feature. This was a one of a kind statue. He could tell by the carve marks that someone made this by hand, not merely popping it out of a mold. Someone spent a good penny on it too, but that didn't concern him. What he really wanted to know was who made it. Looking about the base of the statue, he saw no name or even a signature stamp other than the large 'WELCOME' across the front. Maybe on the bottom? With great care to keep a solid grip on both sides of the statue, he gently started to tilt the statue to the side. Nope, solid stone slab.

"_Can I help you?"_

The sudden irritated voice sent his hands fumbling and almost had the statue on the stone steps. Luckily, his recovery was good, though with the thickness of the stone, the statue would have been fine. Still, what was with him lately? He was never this unaware of his surroundings! Righting the stone cat back to sit flat on the steps, he turned to look up at the owner at the voice. It was an old woman with grey hair…no, she was very young and rather small, just barely a grown woman really. Her hair was just grey colored, or more silver the way it reflected the sun, and it was short. She wore a rather simple, if not lackluster blue dress with a dirt-smeared apron upon her front and a broom held tightly in one hand, her other placed angrily on her opposite hip. With bright brown eyes just brimming with anger and a determined air about her, she was an unusual sight if he ever saw one, and he'd seen some strange things in his day.

Standing straight, he mimicked her angry pose with his hands placed on either of his hips and frowned at her. "Yes, I'm interested in your cat statue."

Sophie humphed but didn't back down. "I could tell! Would you like me to tie a ribbon on his neck for you or possibly bag him?"

She looked the stranger up at down. He was tall, and a touch lanky but she could definitely make out the toned muscles in his arms. His hair was a brownish red cut short but tufted up in unruly spikes. An unusual color, almost as if he might have been a ginger but had a vat of cocoa powder dumped upon him. His clothing was mostly black – black pants, black shoes, and a black and grey stripe button-up vest over a white button up shirt. His sleeves were rolled up at his arms and his top neck button left defiantly open with the lack of a bow or tie. She could also see dark makings on his forehead coming out from his hairline and a long thin line going over most of the width of his face over the ridge of his nose. His coppery yellow eyes were arrogant to match the smirk on his face. Just as she thought, a punk!

_Did she just-?_ With determination to match hers, he stomped up the steps to face her on the main stoop, towering a near foot above the young woman. Sophie was not the least bit intimidated. "If I didn't know better, _lady_, I'd think you were accusing me of something."

"If I didn't know better, _Sir_, I'd think you were planning to do something unlawful to my greeter."

The cheek! He smirked at Sophie though; he liked that spunk. "Well, if you're so worried about thievery, which is what I'm assuming you're insinuating, you should cement him to the steps." He smiled in self-satisfactory. Take that!

"I shouldn't have to! Clearly you're not from around here because the people of this town are reputable. Plus a lot of the customers have seen _MY_ greeter already so if you ran off with him you'd have been reported within the hour. Why not try it right now and see if I'm correct?"

He frowned as she shot his argument down like a pheasant at open season. He clearly wouldn't win an argument with this one, she was too stubborn. He could tell, even if she was wrong, she'd still end up right. But that type of challenge intrigued him, but he really did waste too much time these last few days. Rolling his eyes up for a moment he shifted them back to the young woman and smirked, his teeth showing on the one side.

"Alright, I apologize, but I honestly wasn't trying to steal him. I was looking for a company name or an artistic signature."

Sophie still looked down on him[somehow] with a frown. She didn't believe him in the slightest but answered anyway with slight irritation. "I don't know who made the statue. It was a gift to my late father from a friend of his. I do not remember his name either, but the statue has been in my family since I was rather young. I think you're out of luck on that, so I suggest you be on your way."

The way this girl stared hard at him he could tell she wasn't lying. That was good; he didn't appreciate when people fibbed to him. Man, this girl was fun! He couldn't stop the smirk creeping on his lips again. "Now that's pretty rude! What if I'm a customer? Maybe I need some fresh flowers and a pretty vase to put them in. It's not good for shop owners to disrespect their clientele. Bad business, that."

"If you _were_ a customer, I'd be happy to assist you. But, you're just here to push buttons, MY buttons! So if you please, I have a shop to attend and you're blocking my door, so be on your way before I send you there," Sophie huffed at him.

He laughed lightly, "Ooooh, threatening. And what's a little mouse like you going to do? I am a bit curious, it's my nature."

Before he could say anything more, he caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. Almost with practiced ease, Sophie spun the broom around in her hand and went to thrust the dusty bristled end right in his face. Mere centimeters away from the broom touching his skin, he jumped back, landing gracefully on the cobbled street right at the edge of the steps. He smirked up at her when he noticed her rather surprised gaze. It was gone within moments and her angry brow was back. He smirked and held his hands up in surrender.

"You win, you win, Ms. Mouse. I guess the saying about a cornered squeaker is true, though I would hate to face you in a proper corner."

Sophie snorted as she flipped her broom again, angrily hitting the bristled end on the stoop as her other hand went to her hip again. "Exactly! Now be on your way, _Sir_, before I decide to chase you the rest of the way with my broom!"

With another cocky smirk, he shrugged his arms up before placing his hands in his pockets and sauntering off down the street. My, but wasn't that fun? He hummed lightly as slowly walked his way from the little hat/flower shop. There was something about it…not just the amusing little broom girl. There was something there; he could feel it in the back of his head. A tickling of magic…something warm? A fire? With another smirk, he continued to hum his tune as he began to step with his own beat.

Sophie stood defiantly on the steps and watched the punk leave. Once he was out of sight, she let out an angry yell as she spun and yanked the door open. Storming in, she slammed the door shut behind her and locked it as she stomped her back to the courtyard and to the castle.

_The nerve of people! And her town was always so respectable!_

Calcifer was jumbled from his logs as Sophie forced the castle door open. With hunched shoulders, solid steps, and a grimacing frown on her lips, the fire demon nearly shot up the hearth opening when he caught on eyeful of Sophie. But, he stayed where he was; as long as it wasn't directed at him, an angry Sophie provided loads of entertainment!

"Something wrong?"

Sophie made an angry huff as she dragged her broom with her as she stomped over to her cleaning closet. After throwing the door open she began to tear into it, grabbing a dustpan, a mop, a bucket, and rags.

"The nerve of some people! If I ever see that…that…_HOODLUM_ again, I'll clobber that smug smirk right off his face with the heel of my boot!"

Calcifer cackled in merriment, "Oooh, I love it when you talk dirty, Sophie."

Sophie didn't seem to hear him as she continued to gather her tools to wage war and angrily ranted. "When Howl gets homes, I'll have him charm Goliath! Have him bite anyone that tries to steal him! 'Cement him to the steps' – what a cocky jerk!"

Calcifer only laughed more and settled into his logs. Ah, it was good to see Sophie in better spirits, even if they were the vengeful kind. Better than a worried, mopey Sophie, he thought.

8~8~8~8

Notes: *1: just my interpretation of Howl and Calcifer's contract. I personally think Calcifer provided unlimited magic compared to making Howl stronger. After all, Howl did rebuild the castle, better in fact, plus if you pay attention in the movie, he never seems fatigued. Even during the move scene or his tantrum, he's not out of breathe or sweating, which, anyone who pays attention to Miyazaki movies knows very well he LOVES taking the time to show sweating and being out of breath. But again, just my interpretation.

*2: I realize that when Sophie gets the shop back, the Hatter sign above the door is gone [yes I notice these silly details in things; artist thing]. I personally think it's weird they would leave 'Hatter' in the windows which would be removed [turpentine, scraper etc] compared to removing the sign which is out of the way and harder to get. So we'll say everything was left as is and that sign is still up there for memory's sake for Sophie.

My personal favorite type of Sophie is when she's feisty and threatening to beat people up. My god, all I want is someone to write a fanfic of her dealing with shitty customers, c'mon, Proper Fanfic Writers, get on this!

Anyway, longer chapter. Just to note beforehand, I probably wont keep the length 100% consistent, considering it'll be what events go together etc. but I will try to make them decent sized, since I personally like to read a long chapters. Makes you feel like you're making progress.

Also, you can see the Goliath statue in the story image.


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